Yellow Ace
by TheGamerMarine76
Summary: After surviving the Continental War and coming face to face with death itself, the once-proud Erusean ace Yellow 13 heads to Osea to find peace. It has worked for 14 years until the eventual start of the Lighthouse War where he finds himself on a collision course with his past.
1. 13

**Hello everyone! New story! This is actually my first AC story! I won't say a lot, just that I had this idea for some time especially since AC7 came out. Just had to get it off me. And since I suck, updates would be scarce as I have other stories that I have to maintain, and I'm gonna have school, and so on and so forth. The usual shit that life offers ya know. Anyway, let's get into the story!**

The world was turning upside down all around me, literally. The warning lights and sounds would not stop their blinking and beeping. I struggled in my fight to try and keep my crippled fighter in the air, even though I knew that it wasn't gonna happen. I took three missiles, both of my engines were trashed, my right wing was blown off, and my plane was in a flat spin heading towards the ground. At that point, I had to accept that I wasn't gonna fly anymore. I let go of the stick and grabbed the ejection handles. Once I pulled, the canopy blew off and I was shot out of the aircraft. As I was shot out, the small white handkerchief of Yellow 4 that I kept with me since she died was blown off my front pocket.

_No! Shit!_ I said trying to grab it but to no avail. The handkerchief flew off into the sky further away from me. _Goddamnit! _I knew I had to let it go. I knew that I had a bigger problem at the moment.

I fell for some time until I pulled the cord and landed safely on the ground. I picked myself up and looked around. I was standing in the middle of my country's capital city of Farbanti. The city was in shambles, not that it was already screwed up by that damn asteroid seven years ago but by the constant bombing of the enemy ISAF forces. I looked up and saw that the air battle was still raging but some time later I saw the two sides of the battle split and return to base. There weren't much that split off from the friendly forces. I couldn't find any allies, they retreated and surrendered just as fast as they mobilized. I had a little apartment in the city where I could go and grab some stuff before I had to leave again, hopefully, it wasn't bombed. Luckily it wasn't. I stayed there and I was able to fix myself up. I stayed in there sitting at the small table underneath a little overhead light for what seemed like an eternity. This war has already taken a toll on Erusea, and it was only getting worse. I saw caravans of people trying to get out of the city as I made my way here. People were trying desperately to get out and I knew I had to as well. Perhaps maybe even leave the country too. It wasn't treason, the war was bound to end pretty soon, and I was technically dead so I could do as I please. So I made my decision, I got in a change of clothes, packed some stuff in a backpack, and left. I squeezed in one of the caravans and made my way out of the city and broke off.

As I walked down the highway, I saw a pickup driving down the road and I managed to hitch a ride. We stopped at one of the other cities and I got off. Fortunately, the airport still worked and I was able to get a ticket to Osea. I didn't think they would need me to rebuild. In the sky was something down here, I was just like everyone else. And I had nothing left here. Perhaps when times were better I'd come back.

Once I landed in Osea, I was able to get ahold a few friends of mine. They helped me settle down and even got me a new identity. And that was that. Captain Ryan Danvers of the Erusean Air Force aka Yellow 13 was now officially dead. Now I was Jason Smith, your typical Osean man.

* * *

Some years had passed. I didn't hear too much from back at home, only that they were slowly picking themselves up. I didn't know what to think of my new life, it was quiet and peaceful but I missed the thrill of cruising up there at the edge of space. Then Osea got into a war, again. I immediately applied to be a pilot. The fake identity was solid and it stuck nicely. After a couple of months of tests, I was assigned to fly transports. Not exactly at the edge of space, but it was a start. I flew transports for a number of years when I was transferred to fly fighters instead due to the surplus of fighter aircraft but no one to fly them. I was tested again but I immediately outshined everyone. I was surprised myself, I thought I had gotten rusty over the years. This caused me to almost lose my cover, as a guy whose record only covered flying transport aircraft immediately outskilled all the other trainees. And I was looking a bit old myself. Fortunately, I was able to brush them off and I began to fly fighters again. I was a little surprised when I shipped back to Usea. But not to Erusea instead to an island on the eastern part of the continent. I flew under Mage squadron along with Golem squadron. It took me some time to fit in but I eventually did. I even made good friends with this girl from Golem squadron who I met back during testing whose call sign was Brownie. We always address each other on the ground like how friends would and I liked having her around. She was razor sharp but she reminded me of Yellow 4, and she became like a sibling to me.

We flew simple peacekeeping flight with the IUN from time to time. And I was contented with that. Mostly of the fact the I can still soar the skies with freedom. I thought everything was great and at peace. Little did I know that I was in for a hell of a ride.

* * *

**Yup, it's the one and only Yellow 13. The enemy ace from AC4. I really like AC4 and how you can see the side of your enemy in a way that you sympathize with them and regret having to shoot them down in the end. And I don't believe Yellow 13 was bad in any way. If you put him and Mobius 1 in the same sky together and remove the war, they're basically the same. And I kinda believe that 13 was a true ace in my opinion. That's why I like him so much. And by the way, this is Yellow 13 and this is the AC7 storyline, so you know what's up. Anyway, thanks for reading and have a good day.**


	2. Charge Assault

15/05/2019

16:05

Fort Grays Island

7°58'25" S, 9°25'50" W

Operation: Deer Horn

_They're everywhere!_

_Break! Break! Break!_

_Keep them off of Stonehenge!_

_Missile, warning!_

_Yellow 4 get out of there!_

_Shit! This is 4 I'm hit!_

_Yellow 4 eject!_

_Did someone see Yellow 4 eject!_

_Yellow 4 come in!_

_Yellow 4 come in!_

_Wake up!_

I was sleeping on my cot when I felt a pillow get thrown at me.

"Wake up!" a female voice said. I straightened up and rubbed my face then looked up. I saw my friend Brownie standing at the doorway.

"What is it?" I asked her.

"We got a briefing, and make it quick. I don't know what all the fuss is about. But this may just be the real shit," She explained.

"Real shit?" I asked as I put my boots on.

"The Eruseans!" She as we walked out of the room.

"The Eruseans?" I asked. "What makes you say that for all you know it could be the Belkans...again." Ah, the Belkans. They love picking fights with people bigger than them more than their own country. Just ask the seven nukes they dropped on themselves or the 12,000 that paid the price for it.

"Well, I don't know about you but I heard that the Eruseans weren't the friendliest of people to us Oseans for the past few months," she said. "I guess they don't really like the really big Space Elevator we clearly built for them."

"Huh, well Eruseans get pissed off by a lot of things," I said as we walked down the hall.

"What makes you say that, are you Erusean?" She asked.

_Oh shit, _I thought.

"I'm just messing with ya," She said with a laugh and a grin. "Now c' mon, Trigger, we're gonna be late."

Trigger. Yep, that's my new nickname or TAC name. Brownie gave it to me after I finished the tests. Mainly to the fact that I didn't hesitate when I take a shot. And she got Brownie because, well, we - me and bunch of guys - caught her conducting a solo raid on the mess hall. And what did she have on her? Brownies, a whole box of them. Unfortunately, the callsign you receive will remain as your callsign even after you die. I didn't have a problem, neither did Brownie. I mean there was one poor sonofabitch that received 'Sunflower' as his callsign.

We headed down the hall to the briefing room. Once we entered the room we saw that almost everyone was already there. The briefing looked like one of those big classrooms in universities. We took our seats with our respective squadrons and the briefing began. Initially, everyone had been talking about what all the fuss was about that they didn't notice the base commander enter to begin the briefing.

"Is everyone here?" He asked as a map of the Usean continent was loaded into the screen. "Settle down," most of everyone began to silence themselves but a few were still conversing among themselves. "I said settle down," the rest did so. Once he was satisfied he continued. "You have all been instrumental in maintaining peace in Usea as members of the International Union Peacekeeping Force," He began, "Until today." The map zoomed in to the southern part of the continent. "Earlier, our radar site informed us that a group of unidentified aircraft was approaching." A picture of a TU-95 being escorted by a MiG-21 was shown. "Communication system went down immediately afterward. We are led to conclude that they have attacked the site."

_Attack, why? Who would want to break the ceasefire after all these years? _I thought to myself.

"Heres your mission. It's possible that the Usean ceasefire agreement has been broken for the first time in over a decade. As of today, the Fort Grays Air Base Squadron of the IUPF has been put on high alert. All members who have been ordered to sortie, fly there immediately. Find the unidentified craft, then use your weapons to round them up and force them to land. If the hostiles counterattack then you will…" The commander was interrupted by an explosion.

"What the hell was that," One of the pilots asked. The map then zoomed into the Fort Grays airbase.

"There's smoke!" Another said.

"We're under attack!" An airman said. "Numerous unidentified aircraft confirmed overhead!"

"What ?! How is that possible?!" the second pilot asked with worry in his voice.

"The tank farm to the north has been hit!" The airman reported.

"Many injured!" Another airman reported.

"Scramble! All units, take off and eliminate the unidentified craft attacking the base!" The commander ordered. "This is not a drill!"

The lights came on and everyone hurried out of the room to get to their aircraft. I could see smoke coming from the harbor area and the noise of the air raid siren was audible throughout the entire island. We ran out to the apron and quickly got in our aircraft. I began pre-flight procedures and powered up my engines. The aircraft I now flew was the F-16C Fighting Falcon. Armed with a couple of AIM-9M Sidewinder missiles, four AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, and an M61 Vulcan 20mm rotary cannon. Although I would prefer my old Su-37 anytime, the F-16 was fairly decent aircraft to fly in. The marshaller signaled me to taxi and so I did.

"Radar site still silent!" one of the Air Traffic Controllers said.

"Scramble! Get those birds in the sky! We're sitting ducks!" another controller ordered.

"What's happening?" another asked.

"Bombers incoming! Don't know how many!" the second one replied.

"Let's clear that runway. We don't got all day here." Another one said.

"Mage squadron head to the runway," a fifth one said. This one sounded unusually calm despite the situation unfolding all around him. "Golem squadron take off. Linked to Sky Keeper. Hurry Mage Squadron." He said that last part with a bit of urgency.

"We're on our way control. Don't worry," I said as turned at the bend to get to the runway. Once Golem Squadron took, Mage took their place on the runway. Mage 1 or Clown was the first to take off before me. Once he cleared the runway, it was my turn.

"Trigger, your callsign is Mage 2. Verify and read back." The tower said. One thing I liked about the OADF is that you can have your own insignia with your callsign that doesn't tie into your squadron. It's kinda like you can be your own independent squadron.

"Callsign verified, control," I replied. "Ready for take off."

"Mage 2, cleared for takeoff." I started to power up the engine to max thrust and the aircraft began to roll down the runway.

"The situation is tight." A seventh controller remarked.

"It's a hell of a welcoming party, but we have faith in you. Good luck!" The fifth controller told us.

"Roger that control," I said as I took off from the runway.

"Control, do me a favor and get that bird in the air ASAP." Golem 1 or Knocker said.

"Hear that?" I just scoffed at his remark. "Golem Squadron and your wingmen are airborne. Take off and form up with Mage 1." The controller said. "Mage 2, altitude restriction is lifted. Good luck!"

"Roger that control," I said once more and began a steady 10-degree climb.

"The carrier...Whoa! Looks like the harbor's taken a lot of damage." Golem 2 or Brownie said. Judging by those plumes of smoke, yup, I can't disagree.

"Can't have any more casualties. Time to stop the bullshit." Knocker said. "Mage 2, form up with Mage 1. All aircraft, let's do this. Golem Squadron, it's go time."

"Roger that, Knocker." Clown pulled into a steep climb and I followed him. "Let's get some!"

"Roger that," Brownie said and formed up with Knocker.

"Golem 4, Understood." Golem 4 or Footpad said.

I didn't say anything else. Clown leveled off at about five thousand feet and I formed up on him along with the rest of the squadron.

"This is the AWACS Sky Keeper." he acknowledged. Ah, the AWACS controllers, I kinda have a love-hate relationship with. They can be very annoying along with the fact that they watch the battle unfold before them sitting on a chair, staring at a screen, in an E-3 Sentry cruising at 41,000 feet from a hundred kilometers away. But they always feed you a steady stream of intel as you fly so you don't die or accidentally shoot down a friendly. And the personality of a controller varies, just like with everything else.

"Take down all the unidentified bombers. They don't have many escorts." Sky Keeper said. "They hit our radars hard in the last attack. Expect the worst, and stay sharp." Sky Keeper reminded us.

"Wilco," Knocker said.

"Trigger, I'm your wingman," Clown told me. "You're flying with me now. That's what it means to be in an element. You gotta keep an eye out for enemy bombers." I don't mean to be rude to my squadron leader, but what the hell was I doing since I leveled off with him.

"Sir, yes sir," I said.

We flew around the area for another couple of minutes before we saw something pop up on our radar. Through my HUD, the IFF says it was a TU-95.

"Okay, here we go. Looks like bombers have been located." Clown said.

"Roger that, Mage 1," I said, "I'm engaging." I broke off and got into attack position. I could feel the adrenaline beginning to course through my veins. Damn, It's been so long since I felt that same feeling. I waited till I was at max range, and when I heard the sound of the missile locking I immediately let loose a pair of sidewinders. "Fox 2!" The missiles sailed through the sky and I saw an explosion over in the distance, confirming my first kill in over 14 years. "Scratch one bandit."

"Target is hit," Sky Keeper said. "Enemy bomber confirmed down. Good job, Mage 2."

"Not bad Mage 2," Clown congratulated me.

"Thank you, sir!" I said and formed up with him again. I was never one to be motivated by my kills, but I gotta cut myself some slack. Dogfighting much less flying a plane is a perishable skill.

I leveled out again and formed up with Clown. "Trigger, switch your radar. See if you can locate the enemy."

"On it." I flipped a switch and my radar changed from the short range one to the long range one. I saw that there was a red blip about northwest from my position. "Got it, sir. Looks like we got one northwest from us."

"There it is. Sitting there all pretty just waiting to be taken." Clown and I banked to the left and began to zoom towards the enemy. A minute or so passed and we could see it, but our allies were already there as well. "Looks like Golem is already here, sir."

"C' mon Trigger. Let's not let them have all of the glory for today." My CO said enthusiastically. The fight was happening at a higher altitude than the first bomber I downed. "They're way overhead," Clown remarked. "Let's go introduce ourselves."

My HUD was showing the signatures of Golem Squadron along with the ones of the enemy. I was able to easily identify the enemy fighters as MiG-21 Fishbeds. _Easy picking, _I thought. The MiG-21 was practically deathtrap at this day and age. Maybe if it was early 60's then it would be a lethal force, but against aircraft like my F-16, not a chance.

"Hey, Clown," I called out to my CO.

"Yep?"

"Can I take the kills?" I asked in a rather sarcastically innocent way.

"Go on ahead, Trigger!" He said. "Just be sure to keep up with us."

"Roger that." I wasted no time. I pushed the throttle for full afterburner. I was headed straight into battle.

"Harbor fuel storage is intact. It's asking for another round," I heard someone say through the radio. _What the hell? _"All escorts, form up for another attack. Point is 835." _It works!_I'd experience the same phenomenon before. And I realized that even Osea has this sort of anomaly. We could somehow hear enemy radio chatter. I don't how it happens, but it happens. This happened to me often when I was in Yellow Squadron. Hell, sometimes the enemy would try to talk to us and we'd do the same to them. I even heard about conversations between foes during combat. Although this time it's not entirely an accident. I may have done a little modification to my radio where I can essentially scan for other frequencies that are in use and have a second channel without having to disconnect from the main Osean one. It's probably illegal, but if I can use the extra edge in combat.

"On his tail." Knocker said as he trailed an enemy fighter.

"Watch out for the support aircraft," Clown said.

I decided to go for the enemy fighters first before the bombers to make it safer. I homed in a target and began to track it.

"Rigel 2! Bandit!" The enemy reported.

"Rigel 3 engaging. I'll hold 'em off." another one said.

"No one's holding me off," I said as I kept on the enemy's tail. We flew by the enemy bomber and I took one glance at it. It was for only half a second, but I knew what I saw. It was the orange emblem of the Erusean Air Force, no doubt about it. I began to get lost in thought. These guys were practically my countrymen since I'm still technically a full-blooded Erusean. But I have to shoot them down, but they did start shooting first though. Is this still treason, have I just become a traitor? When I left Erusea I never meant any harm to my home country. Am I even doing the right thing at least? My thoughts were interrupted when Brownie called out to me.

"Mage 2, bandit on your six!" She said.

"Huh?" I looked behind me and sure enough, there was an enemy fighter on my six. It launched a pair of missiles at me. "Shit!" thinking quickly I rolled my plane into a dive and popped flares. The MiG followed so I leveled out and when it tried to lock on me again I pulled the air brakes and did a roll. The MiG zoomed past me and I was now pursuing it. I locked on and launched another pair of missiles. The MiG exploded and began to spiral towards the ground. I did see a parachute, however. My heart was pounding and I was sweating a damn swimming pool.

"Wow, Good kill Mage 2," Clown said.

"Trigger are you okay, you spaced out for a minute back there?" Brownie.

I regained my composure and replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just...damn I didn't get to drink coffee yet."

"Are you sure, Trigger?" Clown asked.

"Yeah, I'm just pretty excited as you can see," I said with a light chuckle.

I knew Clown was probably skeptical, but he just dropped it. "Okay, just watch out Mage 2. I don't want any casualties. Besides, if you live there's always a full tub of coffee at the base."

"Yes sir." I said. _Goddamnit, _I scolded myself. _Thinking like that's gonna get me killed. I can't allow that to happen again. _I banked hard left and flew back to the battle. I saw another MiG and began to trail it. It pulled a few maneuvers but it proved to be futile since it met two of my missiles. I was supposed to be happy, but I wasn't. It's only early onto this conflict and I was already having mixed feelings. I began to realize that I was about to make the same mistake again but I was able to turn it to my advantage. My radar showed sowed a MiG barreling towards me at high altitude. It wasn't locking onto me; it was probably gonna try and do a boom and zoom. I waited before it got close enough and began to fire. Once the MiG began firing, I pulled up to the left causing it to overshoot. I rolled to the right and lined up for a lock. Once I heard the sound, I launched and the MiG vaporized. I leveled off and began to look for new targets.

"Holy shit," I said in a low voice as I tried to catch my breath. Clown must've heard me since he radioed in.

"Trigger, stay calm. You got this." He said to reassure me.

"Yeah, right. Thanks," I said.

"I know that he's shown some promise, but let's remember, he's still barely gotten his feet wet." Knocker remarked.

_Oh really? _I thought to myself and grinned. _Well, let's see about that. _I accelerated again and began to hunt for my prey. I saw a group of four aircraft. Three MiGs surrounding a bomber. I switched my targeting radar from the sidewinders to the AMRAAMs. I instantly locked into all four of the fighters and launched the missiles. "Fox 3!" after a few seconds I saw four explosions confirming four kills.

"That's it. It's great when it's simple." Clown said.

"Enemy bomber down. Nice going, Mage 2." Sky Keeper acknowledged.

"Thanks, Sky Keeper," I said. I gotta be grateful or next time I might not get the kill. Or I would the one killed.

"Not too shabby, Mage 2. But you've still got a long way to go, kid." Knocker said. "I'll give you some pointers back at base if you make it in one piece."

_Why don't I give you some pointers, Knocker? _I thought. So this is what being a nugget felt like. I've completely forgotten. Although, I don't think there was anything in the flight manual that tells you to be an asshole to your subordinates. I pushed it aside and continued to fly.

"Sky Keeper, this is Mage 1, over. Tally two bandits." Clown said. I looked at my radar and I saw it, not too far from my location as well.

"Copy that. It's a bomber and an escort." Sky Keeper said.

"Roger that, Sky Keeper. Leading for attack run," I said as I turned hard to the left and headed straight for the targets.

"Whoa there, Trigger. Settle down," Clown said, but I continued towards my target. This caught the attention of Knocker.

"Mage 2! Maintain your element with Mage 1! Do not break off!" He said sternly. "Mage 1, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Wilco," Clown said as he sped to catch up with me.

"Golem 2, let's maintain element," he told Brownie.

"Copy that, Commander. I've got your six covered, sir," she replied maintaining the trail position.

"Righty-o!"

I continued to speed to the targets. Once I was in range I immediately launched another pair of AMRAAMs. "Mage 2, Fox 3!" I said.

"Bandit has a lock!" The enemy fighter said. They tried to break but I saw two explosions confirming two more kills. Damn, it's probably only been ten minutes but I'm already one kill away from a double ace. It's like the enemy wasn't even trying to fight. This was a bit disappointing on me. What the hell were the Eruseans doing? Was the last war really that bad?

"Golem, Mage. Two new enemy groups." Sky Keeper reported to us. I looked at my radar and I saw two more groups coming in from the northeast and west. I decided to fly over to the one in the northeast as it was the closest one. As I neared my targets, we got a transmission from the IUN-PKF HQ.

"This is HQ. Attention, all combat groups." We all paid attention to him. "Are there any drones? Verify."

"Drones? Are you kidding me right now? Jesus! This the kinda shit that really chaps my ass!" Knocker said, annoyed.

"UAVs? I can't tell them apart," Clown sighed out in frustration.

I didn't really mind fighting drones. I'm not really killing someone and they're easy pickings as far as I'm concerned. We headed to intercept another enemy squadron that's being engaged by Boggard and Footpad. We locked, fired, confirmed our kills, and sped away again to assist our other allies.

"Harbor facilities and carrier destroyed. I'd call that mission accomplished." One of the enemy bombers said. "We've still got half our baggage. Emptying them on the hangars and runways."

_Oh, not so fast, _I thought. I quickly locked on the bombers and shot them all down.

"Mage 2's bandit confirmed down," Brownie said.

"They can burn with their whole payload!" Footpad snarled.

Clown and I continued shooting down the other bandits. I racked up another 3 kills during the last couple minutes.

"Hesitating for a split second could be the difference between life and death." Knocker reminded us. "Stay sharp, think fast."

"Roger that!" Brownie said.

I checked my radar again to get the location of the other bandits. "This is Mage 2, I'm headed over to the bandits in the southwest," I announced.

"Wilco, Mage 2," Clown said. "We're right behind ya." I throttled up to full afterburner again and sped to my targets.

I heard some chatter on the radio again but it wasn't enemy. My radio's probably picking up the news channel. Although the signal was bad and the sentence was cut up, I could make out the voice of a woman. "...the Osean Federation has...space elevator…" That was all I could understand from the static.

"Don't let them destroy the harbor!" One of the ground personnel shouted. "Where the hell are all our fighters?! The harbor is under heavy fire!" That's not good, some of the bombers must've slipped through.

"Shit," I said in frustration.

"What's wrong, Trigger?" Clown asked.

"I think I just lost focus sir," I admitted sheepishly. "Sorry, sir."

"That's fine Trigger," Clown said reassuringly. "They haven't even gotten half of the base, and we already pulverized most of their forces."

"Right," I sighed. "Whooo, thanks for that Mage 1."

"No problem, Mage 2," He said. "Now step on it, this is the last of them, I think."  
"Roger that."

I stood by for max range, locked my AMRAAMs, and fired. Four explosions, four bombers down. I quickly maneuvered to go after the last escort fighter.

"Mage 2, keep your focus. You got this." Knocker said. That was a surprise, to have Knocker suddenly say something reassuring to me, but a welcome one.

The fighter and I did a few textbook maneuvers while doing a series of breathing exercises, but I come on top as he took two missiles onto the hull of his aircraft. I watched the wreckage plummet into the waters below as I leveled out on Clown's wing.

I checked my radar to see it clean from the signatures of any more hostiles. This caused me to deflate on my seat and take a deep breath to relax.

"To Golem and Mage. Job well done. All bombers are down." Sky Keeper commended us. "Our radar shows no sign of bandits. You're in the clear."

"Good going, Mage 2." Clown praised. "Flight commander looks like he's got what it takes."

"Let's slow down. It's just one sortie." Knocker said. "Don't try to be a hero. I want you to make it back in one piece, you hear?"

"Yeah, I gotta side with the boss man on this." Brownie agreed.

I just sighed. "Roger that, Golem 1," I said plainly. Well, it was just one sortie, and they all think I'm a rookie. Knocker's just trying to do his job, and he's not just gonna take chances. Until I can reveal that I was a former Erusean ace without getting shot, I'll just call it a day for now.

Clown and I formed up with Golem Squadron and headed back to base.

"Golem Squadron, this is HQ. Did you confirm any drones?" HQ asked.

"What's the deal with all the drones?" Knocker asked as well.

There was a brief moment of silence before the reply came in. "Golem 1, return to base and report for debriefing." HQ replied harshly. Knocker didn't say anything else afterward and silently led us back to base.

As we approached the base, I heard the same voice again from earlier. It was becoming more clear now as we were closer to the base's transmitter. "...beautiful emerald south sea at Gunther Bay…" Now I can clearly recognize the voice and who it belongs to, anyone can. "...I am Princess Rosa Cossette D'Elise of the Kingdom of Erusea…Citizens of Erusea." Then the signal was cut.

* * *

We arrived at base a couple of minutes later and we each lined up for landing. Golem Squadron landed first, followed by Clown, and I was the last to land. We all taxied towards our designated spots on the apron and parked our aircraft. I powered down my fighter and removed the oxygen mask. I opened my canopy as a ladder was brought over to help me get down.

"Lieutenant Smith." A sergeant greeted me with a salute and I returned the gesture. "Please report to the main building for debriefing." I saw a bunch of ground personnel run up to my fighter to begin servicing it for the next sortie.

"Right, thank you, sergeant." I saluted him once more and he returned the gesture before walking away. I headed over to the main building and stopped by the crew room to dump my helmet and some other things before heading over for the briefing room. Once I got in I immediately took a seat and the debriefing began shortly after.

"We are currently assessing the damage to the base." He began. "We have confirmed that the aircraft carrier Albatross was sunk. We know the attacking bogeys were from Erusea." I winced a little at that part. "International Union Peacekeeping Force bases all over the Usean continent were attacked in the same way. The damage is severe." The commander took a brief moment before continuing. "Many wars are lost by failing to recover from opening blows. That means successfully retaliating was very important. You may have turned the tides of battles here. You have our thanks." He said to all of us. "All of you are dismissed. But Captain Andrews," he called out to Knocker, "Please report to my office, immediately." With that, he left.

I saw Knocker let out a deep sigh as he followed us out of the room, but turned another way towards the Base Commander's office without saying anything. I kinda feel bad for him, although I don't know if he's really in trouble. I know what it feels like to get chewed like gum by your superiors, I used to sit in the same seat as he had before.

We made our way over to the mess hall for dinner. I grabbed a tray and loaded it with food before joining my friends at their table. There were a few buzzing and flickering lights but the mess hall looked okay. In fact, I think the whole base, in general, was okay. We held off the enemy attack pretty well. If we were launched earlier before the first wave of bombers arrived then maybe the base wouldn't have taken even a single hit.

The TV in the mess hall was on the news channel. It was just basically saying the stuff we already know. Erusea has suddenly declared war on Osea, and Erusea launched drones at Osean ports through shipping containers that they somehow forgot to check, and now every Osean carrier that was not moored or is still under construction is now dead. The drone strikes were very precise and no civilian was hurt. Also, the Erusean Army has occupied the International Space Elevator in Gunther Bay and that may be the reason why the Eruseans were suddenly pissed off at the Oseans. And former president Vincent Harling has gone missing at the Space Elevator as he was touring the site at the time. So I feel like there might be rescue mission of sorts that's gonna be launched pretty soon for him. The Oseans hold him in very high regards, calling him the hero of the Circum-Pacific War, although I personally believe that title belongs to the _Razgriz_. I don't hate Harling, it's just that I was never interested in politics, not even Erusean. Speaking of Erusean politics, Erusea has reverted back into a kingdom, that's why they have a princess. I was in 6th grade when the royal family was overthrown in 1991. All sorts of crazy shit went down during that time, then the damn asteroid hit Usea, and everything really went to hell.

"That was some incredible flying back there Trigger," Footpad told me. I smiled at that. "Any idea how many you took down?"

"I don't know. After my fifth bomber - I think it was - I lost count already." I said as I tried to cut the steak that was on my plate. "I didn't think I was competing for kills with anyone. Do I have too?"

"Of course you have too!" Boggard chimed in. "I mean, not really, but it makes things more fun and less scary."

"Yeah, I mean, do you have a problem with it?" Footpad asked.

"Nah, not really. It's just I don't usually take pride in kills," I said, still trying to cut my steak. "But if you want, then sure. I'll join in for some fun."

"Hey, you know you don't have to, if you don't want to, man," he said as he tried to cut his steak as well. The food here was nowhere near gourmet quality, but I learned how to be grateful for what I have, especially during times like now when anything can just disappear in an instant. Besides, when I was a nugget in the Erusean Air Force Academy they fed us some 'nasty' stuff as a survival lesson in case we get shot down and bail out in an area far from any civilization.

"Eh, I'm doing it anyway. If this war drags on then I should at least have some fun." During my days as a squadron leader, I'd never take part in something like this. But now that I'm free from the added tension by leading the squadron then I might as well just hop in.

"Alright then, welcome aboard. I'll explain the rules and mechanics to you another time," Footpad said with a smile.

"Just don't cry when I kick your asses up there." I smiled.

"Whoa-ho-ho, don't get too cocky now, Trigger," Boggard laughed.

"Okay then, you're officially in, Trigger." Footpad said. "Brownie can join in too if she wants."

Brownie, who had been quiet for the entire time, just rolled her eyes and continued to eat. We all just laughed and continued to eat as well. I heard a while back that there was money involved in these competitions Boggard and Footpad put up. If that's the case then I'd probably have enough money to buy myself a new house or car once this war is over. I mean if I continue to fly the way I fly and if the Eruseans continued to fight the way they fought today then it would be like sweeping the floor for me. It'll be a piece of cake, right?

* * *

**AN: That's all for now folks. I hope you guys like the idea and story when it continues to press on. I promise updates but don't have too much hope about continuous ones. Because, life. Go check out the stories: Persona Non-Grata, Triple Threat, and Maidens Shield by SirPerfluous, Ace Combat 7: Three Strikes by MontyMarten, and Soaring Wings by JetBolt001. I'll be taking a lot of inspiration from them, hell I was inspired to write this fic after reading all of those stories. They were some of the best I've ever read. So please check, them out. I actually got the idea of making Yellow 13 Trigger from that one fic I read a long time ago that made him Blaze in AC5. I forgot what its title was though. So if you come across it, take a look yourself.**

**Anyway, thank you guys for reading this and I'll catch y'all later. Peace out.**


	3. Charge The Enemy

16/05/2019

08:00

Fort Grays Island

7°58'25" S, 9°25'50" W

_The thunderous boom of the gargantuan railgun roared across the sky as it fired a shot at the enemy as they swarmed the complex. I saw, at the corner of my eye, an F-22 speeding at low altitude firing missiles at the massive cannons. It was him._

"_Yellow squadron, engage. I got the Ribbon," I said as I moved in to intercept._

_I dove down on top of him to catch him off guard. But he knew this somehow. He turned to the left which made me overshoot. I quickly leveled out my fighter to avoid crashing into the ground and began frantically searching around for him. Then, he suddenly appeared behind me and I tried to shake him to no avail. I made every twist and turn, every maneuver in the hopefully shake him off. But it was useless. He fired a missile at me, I dodged one but the other one hit. The hit wasn't too bad though, I could still fly._

"_I got you, 13! Hold on!" The voice of my wingman, Yellow 4, came through the radio._

"_4, No!" I told her. "Yellow 4 get out of here!"_

_She dove down on him and fired which caused him to break off. But then, he turned and tried to track her now. Her engine was damaged and it wasn't producing enough power. She tried to shake him off to no avail. Before I could turn around and engage him, he already fired two missiles towards 4's plane. They both hit._

"_Shit! This is 4 I'm hit!" She said. _

"_Yellow 4 eject," I ordered her. _

_I turned to engage the Ribbon, but he turned and retreated. He was gone. I circled back to 4's last location and began circling it to guard her if she was still alive._

_"Did someone see Yellow 4 eject?" I asked around, continuing the circling pattern. All I got were negatives as replies._

_"Yellow 4 come in." I only received static. "Yellow 4 come in."_

I nearly jumped out of my bed in cold sweat. I looked around and I began to calm down. It was just the same nightmare that had been bugging me almost every night for the past 14 years. It has happened repeatedly to the point that I'm probably used to it by now. I looked at the clock. It was 8 am. I figured that I wasn't gonna be able to fall back asleep so I just decided to get up and grab some breakfast. I did my routine, put on my flight suit, and left. I headed towards the mess hall and once I entered I immediately lined up to get the food. There weren't too many people so finding a place to sit wasn't gonna be much of a problem. Today's breakfast was a single PBJ sandwich, a small fruit cup, and a cup of coffee. Could've been better, but eh, whatever. I least there was an abundance of coffee. I looked around for a couple of seconds when I heard someone call out my name.

"Yo, Trigger, over here!" I turned and saw Boggard with his hand up, signaling me. I walked over to his table which was also occupied by the rest of my friends.

"Morning guys, how are we doing this lovely day?" I smiled as I took a seat.

"Oh we're doing just fine, thank you very much," Brownie said as she ate another spoonful of cereal.

"Awesome," I said and took a bit out of my sandwich.

The TV was still tuned in to the news channel. Again, it only talked about the stuff we already knew. But there was more talk about the Space Elevator and the disappearance of former president of Harling. So, I now I really think that a rescue mission would be happening pretty soon.

"Trigger." I turned to the two guys in front of me.

"Yeah?" I asked and took a sip of my coffee.

"We just wanted to ask you if you wanted to join our weekly poker game," Boggard said.

I just looked surprised. "Really? A poker game too?" I asked. "What are you bastards on about?"

"There isn't much we can do to pass the time here on base, y' know. The damn gaming console at the crew room only has two games and some dipshit decided to wreck the only basketball in the next few thousand kilometers." Boggard explained. "I don't know about you, but it gets very boring here."

"Hmm, makes sense," I said. "What are the stakes?"

"A plethora of shit." Footpad said.

I took a moment to think about it. "Fine, sure I'll join your game."

Footpad smiled. "Awesome, it happens every Friday night. That is if we're on base at that time."

I turned to Brownie who had been quiet for the entire time. She was the only female pilot around. She didn't really have anyone else to interact with other than us.

"What about Brownie?" I asked pointing my thumb at her. "Maybe she wants to hop in as well."

"Well-." Footpad was about to speak but he was cut off by Brownie.

"Well, I used to join in with them. Until this shithead over here, decided to cheat." She said sourly, motioning towards Boggard. He didn't say anything else and just put his hands up.

"Speaking of games, what were the mechanics for the kill competition you told me about?" I asked. It took a moment but Boggard realized what I was talking about.

"Oh yeah, that one." He said. "It's simple, whoever receives the highest score by the end of the mission gets the loot. The score varies between the three target types. Ground units have 100 points, Aircraft have 200 points. Priority targets have an x2 multiplier for whatever target type it is." He explained. "And oh yeah, cheating of any sort is strictly forbidden."

"Hmm, seems fair. I think I can take it." I said.

"Alright, that's two. Think you can handle it old man?" Footpad tried to taunt me.

I merely chuckled. "Just don't be surprised when I beat your ass."

I looked at the TV again, this time it was about a civilian pilot who was shot down by Osean Air Defence Force pilots and crashing in a military base before being arrested for it and another story about an Air Force pilot who also had his ass thrown in jail for throwing rocks at a government building. I merely laughed at it. _Dumbasses, _I thought as I took another bite off of my sandwich.

* * *

17/05/2019

06:30

Fort Grays Island

7°58'25" S, 9°25'50" W

I woke up to the noise of my alarm clock going off. I straightened out and rubbed my eyes. Today was one of the days where I didn't get the nightmare. Today I had a pretty nice dream actually. It was about one of the times I went on a CAP with Yellow Squadron. Nothing at all was happening so we'd just bicker over the comms. Unfortunately, that nice dream was cut short by this stupid alarm. I got up and quickly readied myself. There was gonna be a briefing at 07:00. It was probably about a counterattack. Once I was ready I headed over to the briefing room in just a nick of time. I took a seat and so did everyone else. The base commander was already there and was just finished preparing what he was gonna say. A map of the Usean continent was loaded into the screen behind him and the briefing began.

"Erusea has made a declaration to the Osean Federation and all countries in the Usean continent stationing the IUN Peacekeeping Force that we are now at war." He began. "Right after the declaration was made, surprise attacks begun around the continent that have inflicted major damage to our armed forces." The red that stood for Erusean controlled territory continued to cover most of the continent until only the southeastern part remained in blue. "Forces aligned with Erusea are currently appearing throughout Usea. The combination of these forces has overwhelmed the majority of the continent, and they are now encroaching on us to the east."

The screen then zoomed in to Gunther Bay, the location of the Space Elevator. "Additionally, the multi-national space elevator has been seized by the Erusean military. After the previous war, the space elevator became both a symbol of peace and a valuable asset in the fight against growing energy concerns. Whoever has control of it will have enormous influence over the entire continent. We cannot turn a blind eye to this critical situation. The Fort Grays Air Base Squadron has been entered into the order of battle to reclaim the elevator as an advance element." _So much for being a peacekeeping force._

The screen then zoomed into an image of southeastern Usea. "First, you will attack hostiles coming in from the Scofield Plateau to stop any interference with the allied ground troops. The enemy has deployed several vehicles equipped with anti-air radar along the roads. You are to destroy them. They should not pose much of a threat." Awesome, a ground strike mission. To an aircraft, anything on the surface is inferior to it. So this shouldn't be too much of a problem. "However, there is a high likelihood that the attack will draw more enemy air support. If that happens, fight them off swiftly and establish air superiority. That is all. Dismissed."

The lights came back on and everyone began to exit the room. We all headed over to the hangars to begin our aircraft preparations. Since this was mostly going to be a ground strike operation, I chose a couple of GPBs for my special loadout. Two GBU-24 Paveway III laser-guided bombs instead of the four AMRAAMs I'd normally use for air-to-air operations. I did a little more preparations for my aircraft before heading back to the crew room to begin preparing the last thing, myself.

I'd be directly going against my own country in this mission, and it's making me feel uneasy. I can't be thinking that right now or I'll be as good as dead once I enter the battlefield. I was brought out of my thought when I heard a voice behind me.

"Trigger?" I turned to see Brownie by the door.

"Oh, hey Brownie," I said giving her a smile.

"What are you doing here, we're launching in ten minutes?" She asked.

"Oh, uh I was just thinking, of, stuff," I said. "It's nothing concerning really, I just had to clear my head out of it."

Brownie crossed her arms and approach me. "Trigger, you know you can talk to me about anything right."

"It's nothing you should worry about," I said trying to wave her off, my smile not fading. "Trust me."

She didn't look convinced though. "Trigger, anything that impedes the welfare of those I fly with is something I should worry about." She explained. "So can you tell me what's bothering you, please?" She said looking into my eyes.

_Goddamnit, _I sighed. "Fine." I reluctantly said. "But I'll just tell you later, we still have a mission, remember."

She grinned at me went back to her usual confident attitude. "That's a deal, Trigger. Break it, and I'll have your ass."

I just smiled. "Yes, ma'am."

* * *

17/05/2019

10:00

Scofield Plateau

7°27'35" S, 28°50'26" W

Operation: Eastern Wind

"Look alive everyone, it's go time." Knocker reminded us all as we began our descent from high altitude. I mentally prepared myself again, just to be sure. This is gonna be a hell of a day.

"Hey, Trigger, remember to keep count of your kills. We'll compare scores afterward. And uh...winner gets a hundred bucks I guess." Boggard told me.

"Alright, roger that, Golem 3," I said. "But I think you should change the prize if you don't want to declare bankruptcy by the end of the war." I chuckled.

"Hey now, Trigger. Don't get too confident." Boggard replied. "Just wait."

I chuckled. "May the best pilot win then."

"Settle down." Sky Keeper ordered and we lent him our ears. "You're coming in range of the enemy."

We leveled off at about 600 feet and sped towards the targets. We were coming in from a direction where our targets would be basically lined up with one another. One quick check of my radar confirmed that. Once I saw the first few targets on my HUD, I immediately switched to my bombs.

"Current target is on rails, but there're still military vehicles and anti-air weaponry. Destroy the target. But HQ has made it clear that no harm should come to civilians and no damage is to be done to public facilities."

"But uh, any aircraft shot down could land in civilian territory." Brownie pointed out. I can't disagree with her, she was right. We can't control where the wreckage would hit. We could only hope that it doesn't cause any unnecessary collateral damage. Osea was probably trying to outdo Erusea, to try and prove that not only drones can avoid collateral damage.

"No point arguing. That's how war is these days." Knocker said.

"Do you have visual in the anti-air radar vehicles? They should be close." Sky Keeper asked.

"Yup," Clown replied. We all broke formation and began our attack run.

I saw a little spot on the ground, the HUD showed that it was a radar vehicle. "Target in sight, going in for attack run." I lined up my crosshairs with the vehicle, locked on, and dropped the bomb. "Boom." The vehicle exploded into burning wreckage. "That's one for me," I announced and continued to the next targets.

"Intercept! Fire the AA! Get the radar vehicle out of there!" An enemy ground personnel ordered his fellow men.

I heard Clown sigh as he formed up on my front. "It's poppin' of now, Trigger. The war has officially begun."

I didn't answer. I swallowed up any other thoughts and proceeded with the mission. The enemy AA guns began to fire on us. I pointed my nose down and fired a missile onto an AA gun. It was instantly reduced to a burning metal pile.

"Hell yeah, hostile has been eliminated!" One of our allies cheered.

I looked ahead of me and saw four targets. Two radar vehicles protected by two AA guns. I dropped a bomb on the radar vehicles and fired missiles at the AA guns. The priority targets are worth more points.

"The anti-air radar vehicle's been destroyed!" One of the enemy ground units said. "They're going for the radar car!"

"Target destroyed. Five to go." Sky Keeper said. I continued to destroy the targets as ordered.

"Get the fighters out there! Protect the radar vehicles!" Another enemy ground unit ordered.

"They got their anti-aircraft guns pointed right at us." Clown pointed out as he bombed an APC.

"It's an air raid! We're being attacked by enemy aircraft!" An enemy aircraft. We must've caught them by surprise. The confusion in their voices is evident.

"Hey, Boggard! How many you got so far?" Footpad asked his friend.

"I got five so far, you?"

"Four, I wonder how Trigger is doing?"

"Hey, Trigger how many do you have?" Boggard asked me.

I dropped a bomb on a radar vehicle and continued. "Ehh, I got nine so far," I said plainly. "There isn't really much to shoot at. They're all spaced apart and I gotta watch my fire or I'll accidentally hit something I don't wanna hit."

I saw Boggards fighter fire a missile at an AA gun, at the corner of my eye. "Haha, I got six now, Trigger! You better start hustling it up!" Boggard said.

Unfortunately, this caught the attention of Knocker. "The three of you," he growled at us. "Shut up and keep your damn heads focused on the mission. You can worry about whatever game it is you're playing later!" He ordered.

"Copy that, Golem 1." I didn't say anything else and pressed on. I heard murmured versions of my reply said by Footpad and Knocker as well.

I continued picking off the AA guns and other targets to gain some more points. "We're using the containers now!" one of the enemy ground units said. _Hmm, what containers? _

"Those weapons are meant for tactical flexibility!" Another one argued. _What are they talking about? _I decided to pay no mind to it and blew up another radar vehicle before moving on to a pair of AH-64s in the distance.

"Target destroyed. Three to go. Continue to engage at your discretion." Sky Keeper said.

I cleaned up the little flight of Apaches and went to engage the rest of the ground targets.

"Enemy interceptors inbound! Prepare to engage in thirty seconds." Sky Keeper informed us.

"Wilco. Here they come." Knocker replied.

"Take them down," Clown ordered.

I saw a bunch more ground targets so I decided to sweep it up quickly first before climbing back up to engage the interceptors.

"Okay, recruits. Pay attention to who's on what side." Knocker came on the radio again. "The newest IFF is connected to our entire force via satellites. It's reliable, so trust your radars."

"Copy that, Golem 1," I said and dropped another bomb at a radar vehicle.

"Two targets remaining." Sky Keeper said.

I immediately pulled my stick to pull my nose up and began ascending so I can take on the interceptors as they arrived. The enemy squadron broke their formation and moved in to engage. I quickly moved into the rear of an enemy F-16 and fired two missiles.

"Missile! Evading!" The enemy pilot tried to maneuver but two missiles to his tail section proved it futile.

I noticed another F-16 get behind me and try to lock onto me. It managed to lock on and fire a missile, but I was able to shake it off. "Attack missed!" The enemy fighter said. I popped my air brakes and rolled to drastically lose airspeed and the enemy fighter zoomed past me. I quickly cleaned him up with a pair of missiles. I also saw that my allies were taking care of the rest of the fighters.

"That radar was just about to go online!" An enemy ground personnel said. "We pushed the plan forward too fast. The base was too far from allied territory!" _I wonder what you guys are talking about?_

I intercepted a couple of low flyers that were trying to harass my allies. I fired my guns on them instead of using missiles to conserve ammo. I destroyed and let Boggard have the other, it won't matter later anyway.

"The clouds don't just affect your field of vision; they also mess with HUD and radar." Knocker reminded us.

I could already see the enemy base from my cockpit. I wasn't very far anymore. I moved in to destroy the last of the ground units. I locked on a radar vehicle and dropped a bomb. "Trigger, there's one more to go," Clown said. I circled around and moved to the last radar vehicle. I dropped another bomb and that was it.

"That was the last radar vehicle! Great work!" Sky Keeper praised us. At that same moment, an enemy fighter got behind and tried to get a lock. I was able to shake it off and I quickly got behind one of them. Radar vehicles destroyed but the interceptor shows no sign of retreating. Take it out. Continue with the mission." Sky Keeper told us and updated our radars. "Crush as many as you can."

I circled back to engage an enemy MiG-21 that was going in for an intercept. At this point the enemy would've been on their max alert level, so I had to fly more aggressively to take them on. I gotta hand it to the Eruseans though, they really are not retreating. I took out the MiG and circled back towards the enemy base. I picked off any aircraft trying to take off with my gun, and I bombed the control tower and other AA guns to make it easier for our allies but also make it harder for the enemy. Once I cleaned up the base and a good majority of the ground targets I went to join my allies up high.

"Golem 3, Fox 2." I heard Boggard say. I saw him tailing an enemy MiG-21 and fire a missile at it. The enemy fighter took the hit and began to fall.

"Only aim over clear ground." I heard the enemy pilot say before he went static.

"Skoll 3! You have to bail out now!" His ally told him.

"Golem 1! Enemy will crash into residential area!" Brownie informed Knocker with a hint of concern in her voice. Despite her best attempts to remain calm and professional, my experience would give it away from her.

"Just worry about staying alive for now." Knocker said casually as he continued to tangle with n enemy fighter. He knew the inevitable and accepted it.

"Wait. So you want us to take down the enemy without damaging any public facilities?" Clown asked as he took down an enemy fighter. "That's gonna be a circus." It sure as hell is.

"They're losing it after their allies on the ground were taken out." Knocker said.

"Can't say I blame them," Clown said.

I followed an enemy MiG into a vertical climb, locked on and fired. I waited till I lost speed and begin to fall where I pulled a Hammerhead onto another fighter which I launched two missiles at. I took out a third one with my gun as I was leveling out from the dive.

"No, they're not linked to the radar vehicles! Launch manually!" One of the enemy ground personnel ordered. "Redo the setup!" _This is gonna get more interesting, no doubt about it._

"Here's some feedback for those war merchants!" Another one of them said. "Write your manuals in a language we can understand!" He complained.

I went over to support Clown as he tailed an enemy fighter. I saw another MiG try to get a lock onto him but I chased him away. He met two of my missiles, unfortunately.

"Enemy transports are taxiing." Brownie announced. Sure enough, there was a line of C-17's taxiing for the runway.

I headed over to the top of the transports and dive-bombed them. The first one blew up normally, but the second one blew up into a giant ball of blinding blue light followed by a very loud bang. It startled me so I yanked the stick to pull up.

"Shit!" I spat out.

"You alright, Trigger?" Clown asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said. "What the hell were those guys carrying?" I wondered.

I lined up to take down another fighter. Two more missiles of the rail and it was one more burning wreckage hurtling towards the ground.

"Good work, Trigger. The enemy's a lovely pile of scrap." Clown told me.

I smiled at his remark and took down another fighter. "Five remaining." Sky Keeper said. I lined up for another shot and another fighter went down. "Four remaining." I saw Brownie take down a fighter. "Three remaining." I saw Boggard take another one as well. "Two remaining." And I saw Footpad do the same. "One remaining."

"Last one! It's mine!" Boggard said as he moved in for the kill.

"Oh no you don't, this one's mine!" Footpad said as well as he gunned his engines towards the last MiG.

Seeing them act like little kids over a kill is pretty amusing. But it's kinda messed up as well. As they closed into their target, a lone missile came out of nowhere and took down the bogey.

"Where did that come from?" Boggard asked, distraught by his kill getting stolen.

"Trigger, was that you?" Footpad asked.

"Nope, I'm way over here." I leveled out at high altitude forming up with Clown before they went and tried to engage.

"So who did it?" Boggard asked again.

I could hear Brownie trying to muffle her chuckle. "Brownie," I called over to her. "Care to explain yourself?"

"Oh shut up, Trigger." She said. "It was in front of me.

"Whatever you say." I chuckled.

"Settle down you four." Knocker ordered us.

"Good work, Golem, and Mage!" Sky Keeper announced. "All targets destroyed, my screen is clear."

I relaxed in my seat and took a deep breath. That was easier than I originally thought actually.

"Launch preparations complete! Bolts are free! Whenever you're ready!" I heard one of the enemy ground personnel say. _Ah, shit. _I internally groaned. Of course, it will never be that easy. "Stand clear 15 meters." Another one said. I returned to my regular alert position.

"Uh, you guys may wanna buckle up," I told my allies.

"What?" Brownie asked.

"UAVs ready to launch! Away!" The other enemy said. "Away!"

Five new blips suddenly appeared on our radar. Knocker noticed this and came on the radio.

"What happened?" He demanded. "Status report!"

"Multiple bogeys on radar! They're close!" Sky Keeper replied.

"Wait...They're being launched!" Clown pointed out.

"You're cleared to engage! They're probably hostile!" Sky Keeper said.

"Wilco," I replied as I gunned my engine towards the incoming bogeys. My HUD showed that they were MQ-99s. These were drones.

"Judgin' by the way they looked and moved, they've gotta be drones!" Clown pointed out, confirming my suspicion.

"Well spotted, Clown. No doubt about it we're, dealing with UAVs. But that doesn't change a thing. Just think of them as somewhat clever decoys." Knocker told us as we broke formation again to engage the drones.

These drones were no joke. They were very agile and they maneuvered around very quickly. I actually struggled a little bit to get behind one. Once I was finally able to lock on and fire a missile, it easily shook it off.

Knocker took note of this and spoke up again. "These drones have great agility. All aircraft, you know what high-G turns are, right? Use them." He reminded us.

I began to let loose more and started to put the high-G turns into practice. I just need to take out these drones before they hurt anyone. I immediately latched onto one and tried to get a lock. It turned hard right to try and avoid the lock but I countered it with my own hard turn and successfully locked on. I fired ahead of the drone to make sure it hit, and it did. The drone blew up and hurtled to the grassland below. "Scratch one bandit!" I announced before moving on to the next target.

"HQ, this is Golem 1. Bandits confirmed as UAVs. Repeat, bandits are drones." Knocker radioed over to HQ to update them about the situation.

"Golem 1, that doesn't matter. Destroy all enemy fighters and get out." HQ responded. Well, this was a feat that was easier said than done, I have to say. The way they maneuvered made it look like there was more of them than what's on radar.

"It doesn't matter?" Knocker asked. I found it odd as well, that that was HQ's response. Only the other day, they were bugging everyone about it.

"He's saying, 'The can change in an instance. Get over it." Clown argued. Well, he right about that as well.

"Yeah, I just wish they'd give us a bit more warning." Knocker grumbled.

We continued to fight off the remaining drones. Although we outnumber them, these drones flew in a way that made it hard nonetheless. When I got behind one, another would appear at my rear to try and lock onto me. Although, each time they successfully lock on and fire, I was able to evade it anyway, without a problem.

A minute later, I latched onto one and decided to study its movements a little bit. Very agile was something I already knew, but they seemed to be pretty unpredictable, not flying in a single pattern. That was impressive, and these were automated drones, even some of the best pilots have a distinct way of flying. I decided to examine the drones a bit more.

I stayed on the same drone, I had a lock but I wasn't firing. Then, I noticed something. The way these drones flew was a slight bit familiar to me, it reminded me of the flying style of someone I used to know. It sent chills down my spine because there was only one person with that flying style. I continued to fight, nonetheless. I already shot two down. I let two missiles fly and destroyed the one that I was tracking.

"Enemy UAV confirmed destroyed. Hell yeah." Clown cheered as I formed up with him to engage the rest of the targets.

"Three enemies to go." Brownie announced.

"Golem Squadron! Surround them!" Knocker ordered.

Clown and I joined in, and formed a kill-circle around the last few drones before simultaneously attacking. I fired on one, one missile hit but the other didn't connect so I just shredded it with my 20mm cannon.

"Golem squadron, you're not going to let Mage get all the glory, are you?" Knocker reminded them. "I'm buying dinner for anyone who takes down an enemy."

_Hell yeah. _"Prepare your wallet, Golem 1." I said. I can already taste the Oured style pizza.

"There's a bar I want to try." Brownie said.

"You're doing good." Knocker commended.

Clown chuckled. "Just two more." He said.

Brownie and I followed one into the clouds. "He escaped into the clouds." Boggard said.

I tried to fire onto one, but the clouds were screwing with the missiles IR tracking capabilities. Same went for Brownie, who tried the same thing I did. We continued to follow, but ice began to form on our aircraft.

"Crap. The aircraft is icing up. I'm getting a warning." Brownie said through the noise of the ice warning.

"Get out of the clouds. The ice will melt." Knocker told her. We both pulled up and out of the clouds and allowed the ice to melt off a little while. We saw the drone come out of the clouds as well and we engaged again. We both fired our missiles the drone blew up.

"One to go! Let's get through this without any casualties!" Sky Keeper announced.

We all converged on the last drone, but it started to run into the clouds. We followed it through the clouds and tried to get a lock. But the clouds began screwing us up again.

"What the? Where'd he go?" Brownie asked frustrated.

"I see him, I'm locking on." Boggard said.

"I'm on his six." Footpad said.

They both fired their missiles but the drone shook them off. I locked on and fired my own missiles. The drone blew up into a burning ball of metal before plunging to the earth below.

"Nice kill, Trigger!" Brownie praised me. "Enemy aircraft confirmed down!"

"The skies are clear. Nice work everyone." Sky Keeper said. "Mission complete. RTB."

"No casualties," Knocker pointed out. "We couldn't have done any better. Returning to base."

"I don't. Maybe the bandits we took down caused civilian casualties." Brownie said.

"No point arguin'. That's how war is these days." Clown replied.

"You shoot someone gets killed." Knocker added. "The guys in charge take care of the rest.

We began to ascend to about thirty to forty thousand feet where we would just cruise back to base.

"So, who won?" Boggard asked.

Brownie spoke up. "I think Trigger won, he was the only one actually fighting unlike the both of you."

"Hey, I destroyed a bunch of them." Footpad retorted.

"How many did you guys get?" Brownie asked.

"I got 9." Boggard said.

"I got 8." Footpad said.

"Trigger?" She asked me.

I knew the question was coming, but I was counting my score. "I got 15." I plainly said. Footpad and Boggard groaned. I just chuckled. "So, I'll be expecting full payment when we get back." Footpad and Boggard groaned some more.

To lighten them up a bit, I asked. "Who here was able to shoot down a drone?"

* * *

17/05/2019

13:00

Fort Grays Island

7°58'25" S, 9°25'50" W

Once I landed, I taxied over to my spot and parked my fighter. I hopped off of the airplane and headed over to the main building for debriefing. Once I entered the briefing room I immediately found a seat and sat down. The rest followed suit and the debriefing began.

"You've given us air superiority by destroying their radar." The base commander began. "The first barrier in keeping us from retaking the space elevator is gone. Now is the time to group up and begin the counteroffensive. Let us reclaim what is ours. That is all. Dismissed." The lights came back on and everyone began to file out of the room.

I saw Footpad and Boggard walking down the hallway. I just grinned as I approached them while they just gave me sour looks.

I held out my hand and gestured to them. "Pay up." They just just sighed and pulled out a fifty zollar bills each. I chuckled as I collected my cash. "Y'know, you guys should do this more often. Then I can finally buy myself a new car when this war is over."

"Screw you, Trigger." Boggard told me bitterly. I laughed and continued walking down the hallway.

I was heading over to my room so I could take a nap to recharge myself after today's mission when Brownie suddenly appeared in front of me.

"Oh, hi Brownie," I greeted her. "What's up?"

"You were gonna tell me what was bothering you." She said with her arms crossed.

My smile faded in realization, and I faced her. "I'm not getting out of this, aren't I?" She shook her head as a response. I sighed. "Fine, c'mon. Let's go somewhere more private."

I led her to my room and locked the door. "Okay, Trigger. Start." She said as she sat on my bed.

I thought for a moment on how I was gonna approach this. "Well, I guess I can trust you enough." She raised an eyebrow. "Do you know the last war?" I asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "The Circum-Pacific War, do you have like, PTSD or something?"

"No," I said. "And no, not that war. The one before that." She was giving it some thought. "Erusea was also involved."

"The Usean Continental War." She answered.

"Bingo," I said.

"What about it?"

"Well," I began, taking a seat. This was gonna be a hell of a story. "You see…"

* * *

**AN: That is all for now folks. We now have the first to know the truth behind the mysterious Trigger. Although she won't be only one, you can count on that. I think I can write this fic a lot easier than the other stuff I'm doing because there's already an existing storyline I can revolve around. So updates aren't gonna be too far behind. That is until school starts. Also, are 'Zollars' the currency of Strangereal. I wonder. And please feel free to use the review column.**

**Anyway, thank you all for reading and I'll see you in the next one. Peace out everyone!**


	4. The Calm Before The Storm

**Hey guys, welcome back! This is the first chapter that happens in between missions. Just so you know, I'm keeping Trigger/Yellow 13 off of any aircraft that's a two-seater. So I won't have to bother adding another character as an RIO/WSO. Also instead of the F/A-18F - which is the two-seat variant - which is used by Golem Squadron and Full Band, in the future, I'll be changing it into an F/A-18E, the single seat variant. But both would generally still be the same as they're both Super Hornets, it's just that the F variant has two seats instead of one. Anyway, that's it for now and let's continue with the story. **

**Warning: This chapter has some dramatic content in it. Possibly sad.**

* * *

28/05/2019

08:00

Fort Grays Island

7°58'25" S, 9°25'50" W

_I yanked the stick of my Su-37 to pull a tight turn in order to avoid an incoming missile. This was a nightmare, and I knew it. I was lucid dreaming. Well, at least it's not real. Thank God._

_Unfortunately, I have to relive one of the worst moments of my life. I saw the Ribbon in the F-22 tracking Yellow 4's Su-3…_

_Wait a minute. _

_Where are the railguns? In fact, where is the entire complex? I looked outside my cockpit, what happened to the desert, it turned into a rainforest of some sort? I looked around my cockpit and noticed something weird. This was the cockpit of an F-16, not a Su-37._

_I looked over to Yellow 4's position. That's not a Su-37 the whole of Yellow Squadron uses, it was an F-18. And instead of an F-22, it was being tailed by a Su-30._

_What the hell is going on? _

"_Mage 2 support!" The pilot of the F-18 yelled. It was a girl._

_I tried to maneuver to help her out but I couldn't move. It's like my body was locked into its current position. All I could do was watch._

"_Somebody! Support!" She yelled again before her plane exploded._

_Holy shit…_

I jumped awake, practically falling off my bed. My heart was threatening to beat out of my chest. I straightened out and examined my surroundings and began to relax. It was just another nightmare. But it felt so real though. Damn, if this keeps up I may as well just die from a heart attack rather than being shot down from the sky. But holy shit though. That sure as hell was different. I just hope that it stays as a simple nightmare.

I stood back up and looked at the clock on the nightstand next to my bed. 08:00 hours. Eh, I needed to get up anyway. I headed to the bathroom to do my routine before heading out.

I entered the mess hall, grabbed a plate full of food and went to sit with my friends.

"So," Boggard began. "What's gonna happen today?"

"Nothing really, probably just another FOD sweep and that's it," I answered before taking a bite out of my sandwich. A FOD sweep is when a lot of the base's personnel would head out to the flight line, taxiways, and runways to essentially look for any foreign material or debris that can damage a plane's engines. We have to cover the entire surface area of where aircraft would be at, so it's a painstakingly long process. Not to mention, It's very boring as well.

"That is if nothing comes up," Footpad noted. "And I don't know about you guys. But something always comes up."

"Mhmm," I agreed. "You guys know that shitty intel is a trend in the Osean military right? So you gotta keep your eyes open."

"Wow, look at you. Acting like squadron leader and shit," Boggard said and chuckled. I just gave him an unamused scoff but I saw Brownie grin.

"Well," Brownie said and we all turned our heads to face her. "Knocker talked to me earlier." I and the other guys groaned but Brownie just grinned. "He said that we've all been pushing it really hard with the training during the past eleven days. So…" She trailed off.

"So what?" I asked.

"So, he's taking us out tonight. To blow off some steam. He doesn't wanna overwork you guys," She explained to us.

We immediately processed what she was saying and through our arms in the air.

"Hell yes!" Boggard exclaimed.

"Yup." Footpad agreed.

I was just glad I was gonna get some time off. I was exhausted during these past eleven days. Knocker had us on training flights and mock dogfights every day during the time that passed. Again, I don't blame him. Back, during the first stages of the Continental War, I had Yellow Squadron in the sky ready to sortie anytime. We almost never left the ground. But, even with my knowledge, understanding, and experience., exhaustion never fails to reveal itself. Especially now, when I'm practically feeling everything as a nugget.

"Oh thank God," I said as I rubbed my face. I removed my hands showing a smile spread across my face. "Looks like Imma get me another Oured-style pizza."

"But that's still tonight though. We still have a FOD sweep today." Brownie reminded us. We flattened out and groaned when we heard this.

"Well, look on the bright side," I said. "At least we have something to look forward to for today. It'll motivate us to do our jobs quicker and more efficient so that we can get it over with."

"I swear, Trigger. You should be squad lead." Boggard told me.

I just smiled. "Trust me, I've had my fill already," I said before drinking from my cup of orange juice.

A little while later I decided to go chill in the crew room for a bit. The TV was on but it was on the news. But I watched it anyway because of a specific person that's on TV. Princess Rosa Cossette D'Elise was shown on air giving one of her speeches. You could say that I enjoyed listening to her give her speeches. She had a hell of a way with her. She spoke in a way where everyone could hear her but still give off a vibe that lights the hearts of any man. I don't need to have Erusean blood flowing through my veins to tell you that, almost any man from any nation can tell you that. Everybody loved her, I've seen some base personnel keep photos of her or keep the TV on every time she was on the air. It was a bit funny to see them admiring the enemy. I don't blame them. I admire the princess in a way as well. She's the pinnacle of morale for Erusea and is singlehandedly keeping the country afloat. And she's like only 18 years old and was formerly a commoner in society, so the fact she doing what she does now deserves a lot of recognition and respect from me. And I'm happy to hand it to her.

In a couple of minutes, Princess Cossette's speech ended and I decided to get up. I looked at my watch and saw that it was only a few more minutes until the FOD sweep. So I immediately got up and headed outside.

* * *

28/05/2019

19:00

Fort Grays Island

7°58'25" S, 9°25'50" W

We did the daily FOD sweep and did some maintenance to our aircraft. Knocker and Clown went and finished up some paperwork before telling us to get ourselves ready. We drove down to the little town area on the island where the bars and stuff are located. Fort Grays isn't completely cut off from the rest of the world. We entered this one restaurant and grabbed a seat. The waiter arrived and we all ordered what we wanted. I, of course, got an 18-inch Oured style pepperoni pizza along with a mug full of ice cold beer. The waiter left with our orders to relay it to the chef and we just sat there. We engaged in small talk, mostly about the current events of right now.

"Any idea how long this war will last?" Boggard asked us.

"No one knows for sure," Knocker answered. "I just hope that it doesn't last too long."

"Yeah," I said. By now our drinks have arrived so I took a sip of my beer.

The thought of the war made us all uneasy, me especially because you already know. But I can't help but feel that it's actually easier for me than everyone here. I don't have anything or anyone to lose, not anymore at least, but I don't know about them.

Knocker chuckled. "You know that just got me thinking," he said and we all looked at him. "Do you guys know that ace during the Continental War?" I perked up when he said this but stayed quiet.

"Mobius 1, was it?" Clown answered. "Why'd ya ask?"  
"It's just that, during that war, the ISAF forces were cornered just like us right now. The Erusean forces kept advancing at an unremarkable rate, and the ISAF was left huddled into a little spot, waiting to be ended. There was no hope for them," he explained. "But then, this guy comes in and singlehandedly pushed back the Erusean forces, turning the tide in their favor. I can't help but wonder where he is right now."

I'm thinking the exact same thing actually. Where the hell was Mobius 1 when you need him? I can't just dial him up and say: "Hey, Mobius. Erusea's at it again so you wanna strap yourself in an F-22 too". I actually met the man once. He tracked me down and managed to find me. He told me about that kid, who we kept around during the war, wrote a letter to him about me. We walked around and engaged in small talk. I respected the man, even if he killed my friends. I killed his friends as well, it was war, and we were two sides of it.

"Wow," Footpad said. "Why'd you suddenly say this flight leader?"

"I don't know, it just got me thinking y' know. I feel like, if this war does drag on then there would be an ace that would come along and help and this war," he said and took a sip from his beer. I agree with Knocker about the ace thing. In pretty much every major conflict there would come a legendary ace that would turn the tide of the war in favor of his side, therefore, ending it. To be honest, I don't really want to root for any side of this damn war, I just want it to end.

"Well," Brownie looked over to me. "We've got Trigger. He's shown some promise lately."

"Yeah, he's been doing all these crazy maneuvers that I can't even do." Footpad said.

"Yup, he really has shown promise, I can guarantee that," Clown agreed.

"Which is why I don't want to trust him just yet," Knocker. "But, you do show promise, Trigger. And, I can't say that it was a mistake for you to be transferred here." He raised his mug to me.

I smiled at that. "Thanks, Knocker," I said and raised my mug to him as well. Our mugs made contact and clinked.

"Alright, Trigger!" Boggard said and everyone made the same gesture to me. The food had arrived and we began to dig in.

"How'd you even do those things, Trigger?" Boggard asked.

"I don't know, I just do them." I plainly said.

"Damn, Trigger, I wish could have skills like yours." He said.

I chuckled. "Their skills, Boggard. Anyone can have them, you as well. It just takes some determination, but you'll learn to do it eventually." I explained before I took another slice of the pizza.

"He's right, Boggard," Knocker agreed. "Maybe if you quit betting during the missions, then maybe you'd learn something."

"I don't even think I'd get close," Boggard said quietly.

We continued to eat and talk, the topic ranged from our aircraft to memories. Brownie was talking about her childhood how she wanted to be a pilot.

"And off they went and I never saw them again." She ended. She was talking about the Razgriz pilots, the heroes of the previous war. She was in Oured at the time and saw them fly away after a huge explosion in the horizon.

"Wow, they really were something," Boggard said. "How about you Trigger, what's your story?"

I put down my mug. "Well, first off," I began. "Have I told any off you I'm part Erusean?"

All of them, except Brownie, looked at me with shock. I expected this though.

"How come you never told us before?" Clown asked.

"Well, I never thought of it as being something important to share with you guys. Then this war happened, and I became afraid that I'd get shot while I'm asleep." I explained to them.

Clown chuckled, "Oh, Trigger. Don't worry, no one's gonna shoot you while you sleep." he assured me.

"Alright, so I'm part Erusean. I was born in the rural areas of the country. My family was farmers basically and that's all I knew for some time, the farmer's life. I actually didn't know that airplanes existed until one day our neighbor bought an old Po-2 as a crop duster," I smiled at that memory. "I remember being astonished when I saw that rust bucket takeoff and fly around. I walked to my dad and asked him what that thing was. He told me it was an airplane. After that, I couldn't get the word out of my head, I wanted to know more about it. And eventually, I wanted to become a pilot."

"But why'd you come to Osea?" Clown asked.

"Well, there was the asteroid that hit the continent and sent it into chaos. Lost a lot of people, my parents included." I explained to them.

"Oh," Footpad said. "We're sorry Trigger." I just brushed him off.

"Oh, don't mention it. It's been years, I've been over it a long time now." I told him. "Anyway, the asteroid hit, everything went to shit, and refugees were crawling all over the place. Erusea was forced to take in more refugees even though they were already overflowing with them. So, they waged war and I had to get away from it. And, here I am." Of course, I had to alter the story so I could hide my true identity as Yellow 13. But, a lot of what I just said was true. The fact I was a farm boy, the Po-2, and the death of my parents.

We all continued the talk, switching from topic to topic until we ran out of stuff to really talk about. It was starting to get boring a bit and Boggard took notice of this.

"Excuse me, I gotta go get something." He said before standing up and leaving. He came back a minute later with something alright. "Alright, name a song and I'll play it." He said while he got comfortable in his seat with the guitar in hand. He played a few chords to show off his skill.

"Oh put the guitar away, Boggard," Brownie scoffed. "I'm not flying through a damn thunderstorm next mission." Most of us laughed at what she said, but Boggard put on an unimpressed look but paid no mind to it.

"Right," He said and began to play the guitar. He played a song that was very well known to us.

"Almost Heaven, West Virginia. Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River," He sang. "Life is old there, older than the trees. Younger than the mountains growin' like a breeze." Ah, Take Me Home, Country Roads by John Denver. That one Osean singer. "Country Roads, take me home. To the place I belong, West Virginia mountain momma. Take me home country roads."

"I've listened to this a hundred times. Still, don't get it," I said. It was, by no means, a good song to listen to. But as I said, I've listened to it about a hundred times in the past, and I cannot understand it at all. I mean, what are these places he's talking about, what the hell is Virginia?"

"You got anything good Trigger?" Boggard asked me.

I shrugged, "Eh, I know a few things. Not many, and probably not as good." I said sheepishly.

"Oh, c' mon!" He pleaded. 'Play something, anything."

I sighed, "Fine, hand it over." He passed the guitar over to me and I got comfortable with it. I plucked the strings a few times to see if they were tuned and I thought for a song. "Hmm, what should I play?" I asked myself.

I thought of one song and began playing. This one specific song was popular back in the '90s especially during the Belkan War in 1995. It had a few vocals but they were in a language I couldn't understand so I didn't bother, it was mostly instrumental anyway.

"Zero," Boggard said. "That one song made by that one Ustian band right before the war began."

"Yup," I replied.

"Why'd you play that?" He asked.

I shrugged, "It sounds good, that's why." I replied.

"You got anything else?" Footpad asked.

"Hmmm. Let me think." I began to think for another song. It took another moment but I got it. I began to play the intro chords with ease and I waited for my friends' reaction.

"Oh wow." Footpad said. The rest of them just remained quiet.

Then I began the first verse. "Saying I love you, is not the words I want to hear from you. It's not that I want you. Not to say, but if only you knew. How easy it would be to show me how you feel. More than words is all you have to do to make it real. Then you wouldn't have to say that you love me. 'Cause I'd already know." I sang. More Than Words by an Osean band named Extreme released back in 1990. My friends remained quiet, looks like they want me to continue. And so I did. I finished the song and looked at my friends. "So, what do you guys think?" I asked them.

"Trigger," Boggard said.

"Yeah?"

"How do you not have a girlfriend?" He asked.

I laughed, "I don't know, never had the time I guess." I answered.

"Have you ever been in a relationship before?" Footpad asked this time.

I straightened up, "Yeah, had a girlfriend once." I plainly said.

"What happened?"

I just sighed, "It never worked out for the two of us, up until the point we had to split for the best." I explained.

"You never tried again?"

"Nope," I answered. "After that time I was super preoccupied with a lot of stuff, then I joined the Osean military and I just thought that keeping my status as single was for the best," I explained.

"Keeping it professional, I see." Knocker said.

"Yeah, something like that."

"Hmm, well I can't argue with you." He agreed.

"That was some playing, Trigger." Clown praised me. Everyone seemed to agree and praise me as well.

I just brush them off, "Oh please, you guys are too kind." I said sheepishly. "But thanks though," I said.

We continued to talk for a few more minutes before I decided to head out for a moment. "Excuse me, I gotta get outside for a minute," I said before getting up and heading outside. There was a boardwalk overlooking the sea in front of the bar. I headed to the edge where I rested on the barrier and I looked over the horizon. It was a beautiful night. There were barely any clouds, the moon was full, and the stars were shining brightly.

The reason why I came outside was because of the war. I needed to clear up the conflict that's raging inside of me before I get myself killed. Or worse, I get my friends killed.

Never in a million years, I'd think that I'd be going against my home country. But here I am, shooting down and dropping bombs on my own countrymen. Or, former countrymen. But still, Erusean blood flows in my veins. When I left Erusea all those years ago I never intended to push any harm towards my country. I knew that the war was lost and there was nothing I could do about it. And I left because I knew that if I stayed I may never fly again. If I left, then I could keep my wings, the only real thing that I really have. After I lost Yellow 4, it was all I had left. And I didn't really think that I was gonna be much help for the rebuilding effort. So, I don't really know if I'm a traitor to my own country. But if I am, then I just hope that I'm serving the side that's right.

Erusea did shoot first though. The reason for them declaring war is quite confusing. Erusea is a whole continent away from Osea, so I don't think it has anything to do with territory. Yeah, I know they're angry about the Space Elevator but don't they see that's it was constructed for them and all the other Usean nations. The asteroid really messed Usea up, and up to this day a lot of countries are still suffering the effects, Erusea included. Why don't they see it? Perhaps it's just the nature of Erusea. A long time ago, around the 20th century, the Kingdom of Erusea began an expansionist policy across the continent and began eating up other, smaller, neighboring nations. Erusea was declaring wars left and right. We were basically the Belka of Usea back then, but we never tried nuking ourselves though. In the late 70s or early 80s, Erusea eventually lost one of the wars and in 1991 a coup was formed and overthrew the monarchy. However, the Royal Family was allowed to live and continued as a normal Erusean family. Erusea then became a federal republic, hoping that it would keep them from starting any new wars in the future. Well, we all know how that turned out. After the Continental war, Erusea was only left with a provisional government and it was decided in the G7 summit in 2008 that the monarchy would be reestablished and take back control, hoping once again that it would bring peace and prosperity to the country. By that time, the warmonger king had died so power would be entrusted to his children, which were not really fond of his policies. So everything should've been fine, right? Well, now we know how that turned out as well.

Or perhaps, the royal family isn't even in control. Maybe it would be like the last war where both the governments of Osea and Yuktobania were manipulated by an unseen force. The Belkans, or just part of them, pulled both countries into almost murdering each other over petty revenge because a war they lost years ago. A war they started, so calling it revenge is just stupid. Maybe that's it, maybe that's why we're at war again. I heard that there was a pretty radical party that's currently in the Erusean government. So it's possible as well; ridiculous, but possible.

But, whatever the reason is, whatever the cause of this pointless war may be. I just want this war to end. I never wanted to fight, even when I joined the EAF all those years ago, all I wanted was to fly. I don't wanna kill anyone, I don't wanna drop bombs on tanks. But, I have a duty, and I must fulfill it, whatever the cost may be. I was eventually brought out of my musings by a voice behind me.

"Hey," I looked behind me to see Brownie standing there.

"Oh, hey," I said. I smiled and she did as well. "Come out to enjoy the view as well, I presume."

"Yeah, it's a nice night." She replied. I turned back towards the horizon and she walked over to my side and gazed out into the horizon as I did. "Why'd you come out here?" She asked.

"I just wanted to think about some stuff." I plainly said.

Brownie glanced at me, "It's about the war isn't it?" She asked, her smile now gone.

"Yeah."

"How do you feel about all of this?"

I shrugged, "I don't know, to be honest," I admitted. "My feelings are shifting over and over again. There are so many factors that I have to take into account that are colliding with one another." I turned my head towards. "They're my countrymen, but you guys have grown on me in a way," I added. "You especially."

She blushed at that last part and turned her head away for a brief moment. She spoke up again. "I'm scared, Trigger," she said. "And it's only been two missions." She laughed bitterly at her own remark. "Are you scared, Trigger?"

"I don't know as well, actually." 14 years ago I was scared shitless during every sortie. Knowing that it was possible to not return after a mission was not something that puts you at ease. If I was afraid then, then I was even more terrified now. Being shot down teaches you that: no matter how skilled you are in combat, it doesn't change the fact that you're still human and still very much killable. But why didn't I say that I was?

She gave me a curious look. "Why?"

"I don't know, I mean," I sighed. "I don't really have much to be afraid of, not much to live for. I worry about the safety of those I fight with, but other than that, I don't really have anything else." I trailed off.

She looked up at me, "Trigger," she softly said, "Look at me." Her voice was soft and low but I knew she wasn't asking. I turned and faced her. Her gorgeous blue eyes penetrated mine and were weighing down my soul. "Don't say anything like that." She told me. "Of course you do."

"What do you mean?" She just looked at me. "I mean I have tiny ass apartment, a cheap cell phone, a piece of shit car," I made a sweeping motion with my hand across the night sky, "And I have my beautiful sky to fly in," I said. "But other than that, nothing."

"Don't say that, Trigger!" She almost yelled at me. I was actually taken aback by this. "You do have something to live for!"

"Then what?!" I retorted. Brownie looked away, trying to find the answer to a question to which I was sure did not have one. "I thought so," I said turning away, confident I won the argument.

It took a brief moment but she looked up at me again, but with a red face. Then, she said something that surprised me. "You have me."

I instantly looked at her once again and gave her a confused look. "What?"

"You heard me." She looked down and closed the small distance between us to the point I could actually feel the heat radiating off of her body. But I didn't move an inch. "I don't know how to say this, but," she took my hand in hers. This really caught me off guard and I tensed up but remained still. I blushed the moment she did that. I knew what was coming. "I...I've somewhat fallen for you, Jason, or Ryan since you aren't really who you say you are." I remained quiet, rarely has anyone addressed me by my real name, not even back in Yellow squadron. Brownie continued "The day you arrived at the base, I'd seen you as competition and I hated your guts but didn't show it." She admitted.

"Oh you did," I teased her which caused her to hit my arm.

"Shut up, I'm confessing here!" She told me straightforward and I shut up. She continued, "Anyway, as the days go by I actually got to know you, and I couldn't help but think that you're really sweet." I blushed heavily at that. Hey, it's not every day you get a girl that says that kind of shit to you. I wanted to say something but I knew that would irritate her so I didn't. "Then you told me about who you really are. I was taken aback by it. Not because you were an Erusean ace, but because you told me about your past. I knew I forced you to tell me about your problems but you could've just lied and made something up. I asked you why and you said that you really felt like you could trust me even with info such as that." It's true, everything that she just said. After careful consideration, I concluded that I could trust her. And make no mistake, it took a helluva lot of trust. "To be honest, I don't trust a lot of people myself, it takes me so much to trust someone even with little things after what I've dealt with in the past." She winced at that last part, it really must've screwed her up.

"Hey, don't continue if you don't want to," I told her, noticing her uneasiness.

She just brushed me off, "No, you sucked it up when you told me, I gotta repay that." I didn't argue with that, I couldn't. And I kinda wanna hear the rest of this. "Anyway, I knew what you told me were all true, and I knew that you actually trusted me that much to tell me. So I came to realize that I could actually trust you too and that I could count on you on anything." She told me. "To sum it all up, you're pretty much all I've ever asked for. And," she struggled to say the last part but eventually did. "I love you, Ryan." She finally said.

And that as that. I was at a complete loss of words, I didn't even know what to think for Christ's sake! "S-Sarah," I stupidly said. That's her real first name by the way. "I don't know what to say." I really didn't know.

"Shhh," She shushed me. "There's nothing for you to say." She told me, and before I knew it we were slowly coming into contact with each other. We closed our eyes as we came closer and closer to each other. But before our lips could meet, I suddenly pushed off of her and put some distance between us.

"Ryan, What's wrong?" She asked me.

I just remained quiet. Why did I just do that, what has gotten into me? I said before that Sarah/Brownie was like Yellow 4. But now that I look at it, she's basically Yellow 4 2.0. She was the full package as well. Smart, strong, determined, loyal, independent, has an amazing personality, not to mention really cute as well. She was it, she was the reason, she was the one really worth living for. But why did I push her away? This was bullshit and I knew it.

There was the war, the nightmare from last night, and the images of Yellow 4's fighter exploding in mid-air. That was it, that was why. And I fucking hate it. But it's the truth, no matter how bitter it was, I have to face it.

"What's wrong?" She asked again.

I faced her and prepared to tell her the disappointing news. "I'm sorry, Sarah," I told her.

She tensed up and I knew she was preparing for it as well, but she refused to believe it. "What do you mean?" Her voice was still soft but she demanded an answer.

"I'm sorry, Sarah," I repeated. "But I can't do this."

"Why not?" She persisted. I'm sure she's gonna be in tears pretty soon.

"I told you about Yellow 4 right?" She nodded. "Well, she is why."

"What?" She gave me a confused look.

I sighed. "I loved her too, Sarah. But she's dead now, so it doesn't matter. And she's dead because I let her get too close to me." She still looked confused. "As the days went by of her being under my wing, I could feel myself getting closer and closer to her, and the same was with her. Eventually, we fell in love with each other. I had a feeling that it was wrong and that I should stop then and there. But no, I continued, I let her in. She never left my side, even when I ordered her to do so. And she paid the price for that." I explained and faced her. "I don't want that to happen to you too."

"But, Ryan," She tried to come closer but I didn't let her. "It won't happen again. We can make it out if we play it right." She persisted but I didn't budge.

"What makes you so sure that it won't happen?" I retorted. She didn't answer. "I'm sorry Brownie, but it's for the best."

She then charges me and latches onto me. She then let a river of tears flow down onto my shirt. I just hugged her back. "Please, you're all I want."

"Brownie, look at me." She did so, and I smiled. "Don't be sad, I'm still here. I'm not gonna disappear just because I don't want a relationship right now. Look at me, I'm still here." My attempts to reassure her worked to some extent, but she was still disappointed that I turned her down. I mean, who wouldn't be if they were put into this situation.

"That still won't make me stop wanting you." She said through sniffles.

"Hey," I said. "If it makes you feel any better. I like you as well." She lightened up by this and I continued. "But I still don't wanna go deep with this." She returned to being disappointed. "But you know what," she looked at me again. "Perhaps after this war is over, and everything is all fine and dandy once again, and we're back to boring CAPs, maybe I'll give it a shot." I offered her. "Is that a deal?"

She fully lit up and smiled at me. "Seems fair, okay then." She said.

I smiled and I hugged her. "Great. And don't worry, I'll make sure nothing happens to you until then."

* * *

**AN: And that's that folks. I don't have to explain what happens in the next chapter, but sadly, it will happen. I kinda don't want it to happen as well. But the plot depends on it. Please feel free to rant away in the comment section. Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll see all of you again soon. Peace out everyone.**


	5. Two Pronged Strategy

**AN: This is it. Get ready to press F.**

30/05/2019

06:030

Fort Grays Island

7°58'25" S, 9°25'50" W

The briefing was scheduled to be at 0700 hours. So I woke up at around 0630 to get myself ready for it and for the eventual mission that follows. I quickly did my morning routine before running to the mess hall to grab breakfast. I needed to be in tip-top condition for the mission so that meant having a full stomach. Breakfast consisted of bacon, eggs, some toast, and a cup of coffee. Today was gonna be a good day, or so it seemed. I quickly devoured my breakfast before running over to the briefing. Luckily I managed to arrive just on time. I took a seat beside Clown and the briefing began.

The map of Usea was loaded into the projector. "The surprise attacks carried out after the declaration of war saw the peacekeeping forces of various countries, including Osea, suffer major damage." The base commander began. The map of the continent had been divided to show the territory controlled by both the allies and the enemy, with the red symbolizing the Erusean controlled and the regular blue for Osean. So it wasn't looking good on the allied side. "The ships moored around the space elevator and near Gandar Bay have been hit particularly hard." The map zoomed in to the area of the space elevator. "Numerous ships have been sunk and abandoned. Fortunately, our cutting edge aircraft carrier Kestrel II was at sea, so it was spared from the attack." The map moved over to the western coastline of Erusea and a picture of the Kestrel II was shown. "Kestrel II is now preparing to launch another attack against Erusea's capital, Farbanti." Ouch. I internally winced at that. After being hit by an asteroid, and bombed by the ISAF, it was being bombed again. The map moved over to another part of the continent and displayed the image of another aircraft carrier. "The aircraft carrier Vulture also managed to escape Gandar Bay safely. However, it lost all its aircraft, so it's sailing empty.

"Today, the International Union Peacekeeping Force reclaims its bid to the space elevator. The Fort Grays Island Air Base Squadron will rendezvous with the carrier Vulture for a joint mission." The map then zoomed in to an area on the southern region of the continent. "The first objective would be to seize air superiority in Chopinburg in order to secure a route for the support squadrons. The enemy maintains air superiority over Chopinburg, so expect heavy resistance from enemy aircraft." Alrighty then, so it was an air superiority mission. Not as easy as the last mission as all the targets are on the air instead of on the vulnerable ground. But I guess the squadron and I could do it and make it back home in time. "There's more, so listen carefully," of course there is. "Right from the start of the war, the enemy has been deploying drones. "An image of a drone appeared." They're using a new advanced type of drone. The unmanned, airborne aircraft carrier the Arsenal Bird carries this new drone, MQ-101." The map zoomed out over to the area of the space elevator and two red rings zoomed out from it, and a picture of the Arsenal Bird was shown. "The Osean army headed the development of the massive Arsenal Birds and dispatched them to the space elevator to provide support. However, it's been reported that the carriers may have fallen into the hands of the Erusean Forces. If that's true, it could be a significant obstacle for us." Oh wow, now that was just disappointing. Not only has Osea forgotten to check their shipping containers but they seem to have let a couple of their superweapons fall into enemy hands. I mean, hell. We may just seize the remains of Stonehenge and use it against Erusea. Now wouldn't that be something? "We need to regain control of the space elevator ASAP. Good luck out there. Dismissed."

The lights came back on and we all stood up from our seats and began to file out of the room to begin preparations. As I walked down the hallway, I was approached by Boggard and Footpad.

"Yo Trigger." I turned around to be met with the two.

"What's up?" I asked.

"We were hoping that you would be interested in another challenge," Boggard explained.

I just gave them a look. "Are you sure?" I asked them.

"Why wouldn't we be?"

I just chuckled, amused by their offer. "Sure, I accept the proposal," I said, then turned around, heading to the hangar. "But don't be surprised when you have your asses handed to you for the second time," I told them as I continued to the hangar.

"Hey, you were lucky! That's all!" Footpad retorted behind me.

"Yeah, we'll get you this time, Trigger!" Boggard added.

I merely grinned and continued to the hangar. Once I arrived, I immediately began the maintenance of my aircraft. First off, I wanted to fix up my armament. It was an air superiority mission, so I needed to be armed for aerial combat, okay then. I began maintenance of my F-16C, and also went to choose a new weapon. I first thought that maybe my best bet would be to bring out the four AMRAAMs with me on this mission. But, if those drones show up and they're as maneuverable as I think they are, then the AMRAAMs would not be very effective. So I went with the SASMs instead. Four AIM-132 ASRAAMs, very maneuverable missiles with a pretty high max G overload. However, just like my normal Sidewinders, they're short-range missiles, so it'll be a knife fight. I didn't mind that though.

I made a few more checks and maintenance such as carefully inspecting the whole of the aircraft. One single broken part and the aircraft may just crash on take off. I made sure to check the engines extra carefully. It was a pilot's responsibility to make sure that their aircraft is in full working order, failure to comply means serious consequences. The same consequences Yellow 4 paid the price for when she chose to fly with a bad engine. It still bugs me out to this day, and I still think that it was my fault to some extent. So I make sure to never make the same mistake as well.

I was on top of the jet, inspecting the airframe when I heard a voice behind me. "Hey." Someone called out behind me. I turned around to the source of the voice. I flashed a smile when I saw who it belonged to.

"Hey, Brownie." I greeted her. "How're you doing?"

"I'm doing great, thank you very much," she said. "I couldn't find you anywhere until I decided to look here. What are you still doing here anyway?"

"I'm maintaining my airplane," I replied.

"Y' know, the ground crew is here for that." She said. "Are you trying to replace them or something?"

"Nope, I just wanted to do the extra maint myself. It's kinda a habit for me now." I said as I closely examined the airframe.

"But why though?" She said taking a seat on a stool next to the tool chest. She had her arms and legs crossed as she continued to watch me.

I straightened out. This may take some time. But whatever, I got a lotta time and besides, I liked talking to Brownie anyway. "You see, Brownie," I began. "Maintaining an aircraft is a delicate art. You have to inspect the whole surface area of it. And that's just the outside. There's also the electronics, controls, engine. All the stuff. Basically, you have to treat it like a girl." I explained.

She scoffed at the last part. "Are turning this into a gender thing?" She asked. She didn't sound insulted though and was only pulling some fun.

I sarcastically went defensive anyway. I put my arms up, "Oh, no, no, no! That's not what I meant. When I said 'treat it like a girl', I meant to treat it with care and respect as it is the most valuable thing to you up there. You want to think of it like it's human and keep it happy. I mean, in a relationship if either of the two in the couple is unhappy then the relationship would go to shit. Especially the girl, the girl has to be happy. I don't know about you, but a lot of girls are _extreme_ these days." I explained.

She looked pretty amused with what I was explaining to her as she just maintained her grin. "Well, just like men, we have a good and bad side. The good side is pretty nice if you stay in it but the bad is where things get interesting." She explained.

"So the moral of the story is?" I asked.

"Don't let things get interesting." She answered.

"And?"

She took a moment to think. "Boring is always better."

I pointed a finger at her and clicked my mouth. "Presto."

She stood up, "So you like boring girls then?" She asked before pacing around a bit.

"No! Not presto!" I retorted.

She then proceeded to fake being insulted. "Oh I see it now, you're into girls who are less than you. And you said that you liked me too, does that mean I'm boring?!" She put a hand on her chest like she's hurt or some shit. "Come to think of it, I don't even know why I liked you in the first place."

"No! It's not…" I just threw my arms up in defeat and continued working. "You know what? I give up, I got shit to do anyway."

Brownie giggled and crossed her arms. "It's fine, Trigger. I believe you're a gentleman and a decent guy." She said with a smile.

I smiled as well. "Thanks. I'm very flattered." I said. "My turn to ask questions now. Why are you here anyway?"

Her smile faded a little bit. "I just, you know, wanted to see you. And to tell you to, be careful up there. No daredevil shit and the likes. Not only will you piss Knocker off but you'll make me worry as well."

I stopped what I was doing and looked at her. It's only been more than a day, so Brownie still most definitely likes me. It would be weird for most people, but we're close. And I can't help but worry about her as well. I can feel myself actually being drawn to her. I climbed down the fighter and approached her. "Come here," I said and she instantly wrapped her arms around me, and I did the same to her. She had her head rested on my chest and I proceeded to pat her back. "I'll watch over you guys up there, I'll even keep those to dumbasses from ramming an enemy plane as I they try to beat me," I told her.

She giggled, "Yeah, Boggard and Footpad. Those two nutjobs."

I thought of a way to try and calm her down a bit, "Hey," She looked up at me and I smiled warmly. "When we get back later from the mission, I'll head out and buy you those brownies you liked. Sounds good?"

"Are you trying to make me fat now?" She asked. I really do not understand women. Can someone recommend a book?

"Brownie, you're impossible." I plainly told her.

She giggled, "I'm just kidding, Trigger. I would love that." She said. "Sounds like a date." With that, I smiled and we let each other go.

"Right. I just have a little more checks to do before heading to get ready. You should go and get ready yourself. Wouldn't want us to get caught together here and have Knocker chew us out later about fraternization."

Brownie laughed. "Yeah. I'm heading out." She said and turned to exit the hangar. "I'll be expecting those brownies, Trigger!" She added before leaving.

I just smiled before continuing my work.

After all the checks and maintenance, I readied myself and hopped in my fighter. I started it up and taxied to the runway. I made the usual pre-flight checks and hit the throttle to full afterburner and I was barreling down the runway. Once I had enough speed, I pitched my nose up and I was in the air. I retracted my landing gear and I went to join formation with Clown right behind Golem Squadron. And we were off to meet the enemy once again.

* * *

30/05/2019

15:01

Chopinburg

0°28'18" S, 45°34'15" W

Sometime later, we arrived at the aircraft carrier Vulture. Although, only Golem Squadron was allowed to land because they were carrier jets, while Clown and I of Mage Squadron had to stick to a holding pattern above the carrier and wait for the tanker aircraft. In other words, we were stuck up here while Golem was allowed to chill on the carrier.

The OADF KC-10 was late but eventually arrived and I proceeded to refuel my aircraft. Once that was over I formed up with Clown and waited for some of the other squadrons to refuel. After that, we headed to the AO. Golem Squadron had already taken off from the carrier and was already headed to the AO to begin operations.

Once we neared the area of operations, Sky Keeper greeted us. "Mage Squadron, report." He ordered.

"Mage 1, reporting," Clown said.

"Mage 2, reporting," I said.

"About time you got here, Trigger!" I heard Boggard yell over the comms. "I already have three kills, so you better step on it."

I chuckled, "Trust me, Boggard. You should be the one to step on it." I retorted.

"Cut the chatter!" Sky Keeper interjected.

We penetrated the AO and Sky Keeper came up the comms to give us a situation report.

"Mage Squadron, this is the situation," He began. "Golem and the other base's squadrons already joined forces and are engaged. You guys will arrive right in the middle of the action." He explained to us. "Mage Squadron, eliminate all bandits in the current airspace." He ordered us. "We have the upper hand, but that doesn't mean we can ease up. Good luck."

"Mage 1. Wilco." Clown said.

"Mage 2. Wilco." I said.

We headed deeper into the AO. I checked my map to pinpoint the location of the hostiles. By the look of the clump of red that was displayed on my screen, it was a furball out there. My controls were a little stiff due to the strong air currents at this altitude. Nothing I can't overcome though.

"Mage 1 to Golem 1. Thank your lucky stars." Clown told Knocker.

"Looking good, Mage Squadron. Keep up that pressure." He replied.

"Trigger, time to show the other guys that we get wet, wild, and do dirty, dirty things," Clown told me.

I smirked at that, "Roger that, Mage 1." I replied. We flew in deeper and we could see the furball already.

"Once you hit one of them, stick to 'em like glue. Don't let them out of your sights, even in the clouds." Knocker reminded us.

"And so your first hunting season begins," Clown said.

I scanned the furball to find my first target of the day. The Eruseans were bringing out more capable aircraft now, I saw F-16's as well as some F-4s. They were a step higher than the MiG-21. I spotted a lone F-16 at a lower altitude than me and I found my target. Our paths were intersecting, so I pulled up my nose a little bit and rolled before diving down onto him. I locked on and fired ahead of his path and I saw an explosion that confirmed my first kill of the day.

"Wooo! Splash one bandit!" I reported.

"Don't let those jerks steal your kills!" A pilot from another squadron said.

"Enemy reinforcements. I don't like these odds." An enemy pilot said.

I latched onto another F-16 and moved in for a lock, but one of his friends had slipped behind and was trying to lock onto me. He managed to lock on though and was waiting to fire.

"Mage 2. They have a lock on you!" Brownie told me.

"It's fine, I got this." I plainly said without any fear in my voice. I locked onto the bandit I was trailing and fired.

"Missile! Missile! I can't-" the two missiles tracked and hit their mark.

"Splash 2," I said. But at that same moment, the bandit behind me fired as well. I immediately made a high-G turn to the right and the missiles lost track. I maintained the high-G turn before leveling out and pulling up to an Immelman turn and getting behind the bandit that was behind me earlier. I locked on and fired. The missiles hit their mark.

"Gram 3 bailing out!" The enemy pilot said before the line went static. I made a pass to confirm this. And sure enough, I saw the canopy of the F-16 pop open and the ejector seat rocket out. It was a relieving sight, to be honest.

I turned to the left to see an F-4 doing a vertical climb. It was easy picking. I latched onto him and moved in for a lock. "Get off me!" The enemy pilot frustratedly said. We both were slowly going up as we only had a little energy and we were also very close. I decided to just shred the F-4 with my cannon instead. I lined up my aircraft and fired a burst of 20mm rounds at it. The F-4 was swiss cheesed before exploding. "I'm hit, I've lost control." The enemy said.

"Careful. There's a real demon in there." One of the enemy pilots said.

I used the energy from the climb to pull a hammerhead. My aircraft stalled and used the rudder to turn my nose to point down and throttled up my engine again. I dove down on an unsuspecting F-16, and I locked on and fired.

"They got me." The enemy pilot said before the line went static.

"Splash 5. That's an ace boys and girls." I announced. Both Footpad and Boggard groaned.

"Three remaining." Sky keeper announced.

I leveled off and began to look for my next target.

"Let's do the humane thing and put them down!" Boggard said. I don't know what he meant about that but okay I guess.

I saw another F-16 dead ahead of me and I moved in for a lock. But another one managed to get behind me and lock on. So I head to break off to avoid the attack. The enemy fired at me but I yanked my stick and pulled into a tight loop which threw off the missiles. I looped back down behind my pursuer and fired my own missiles.

"Missile! Evading!" The enemy the F-16 disintegrated and I moved on.

"Eject!" Another enemy pilot told his ally.

"We've got this. They can't recover." One of the Skeleton Squadron pilots said.

"We need reinforcements now!" An enemy pilot said.

I saw another F-16 being trailed by an ally so I decided to help out. "This one's mine." The allied pilot told everyone as he fired his missiles at the enemy plane. The enemy dodged the missiles by pulling into a steep dive so I dived as well and locked onto him and fired. The aircraft exploded confirming another kill for me. The dude and his RIO in the F-14 are probably pissed at me for stealing their kill but I didn't care. I proceeded to hunt the last guy down.

"Nice kill," Clown told me.

"Is the enemy command insane? Why aren't they pulling out?" One of our allies asked. That's actually a good question. Erusean combat rules state that if a fight is a sure loss then an order to retreat is to be given. I don't believe that Erusea has become fanatics since. Unless, this is all planned, a diversion. I really gotta watch out now.

"Looks like they weren't ready for a fight." Knocker noted.

There was only one bandit left. I hightailed it to the location of the last enemy plane moved in for a lock. He retreated into the clouds but I followed him in. My plane began to ice up but I remained glued to the tail of the bandit. I managed to lock on and fire. He went down not long after. I immediately got out of the clouds before my plane fell out of the sky, and I leveled out.

"Our radar show no sign of bandits. You're in the clear." Sky Keeper told us and it was followed by the cheers of my allies.

"I haven't even broken a sweat," Clown said.

"They have to be crazy to pick a fight with us! A rabid dog would know better!" An allied pilot noted.

I smiled, that was easy. Too easy, and my smile disappeared as quickly as it appeared. The enemy command didn't pull out and the bandits weren't putting up much of a fight as well. This was very strange. And my gut was screaming at me that this wasn't over yet. Oh, how right my gut was. My missile alarm suddenly began to ping.

"Missile incoming! Evade!" Knocker ordered. I immediately broke off to some random direction while I frantically looked around my surroundings for the oncoming missile. I noticed that my allies were being locked on and pulling evasive maneuvers as well.

"Break! Break!" Clown ordered.

"Wait, what the hell?" Sky Keeper said.

"Caution! Missile!" Brownie frantically said.

I fought my controls as I struggled to evade the incoming missiles. I gritted my teeth as I pulled a bunch of high-g turns as I narrowly avoided an incoming missile and to throw off the other missiles but it looked like it was just replaced by another one in the process. But then, it stopped. I leveled out and formed up with the rest of my allies.

"Caution! A large aircraft is approaching! All aircraft stay alert!" Sky Keeper informed us.

I looked over to the horizon and my eyes widened. "Holy Mother of God," I said to myself. There was this enormous aircraft that emerged out of the clouds and it seemed to drop some things from the bottom of it. A little later did I realize that those things dropping down were other smaller aircraft. And there were lots of them.

"UAVs closing." One of my allies said.

"We've just learned that Erusea is utilizing the Arsenal Bird." Sky Keeper said. "Those bastards. They had that thing combat-ready this whole time."

"Sky Keeper, this is Skeleton 1," The allied squadron leader chimed in. "What do we do about that monster?"

"We're just waiting for mission command." Sky Keeper answered.

"I've a bad feeling about this." Skeleton 1 said grimly.

I gulped, "Yeah, so do I." And that was rare for me.

"We'll live through this, Trigger!" Clown reassured. Then we all moved in to engage the enemy drones.

"Watch out! We're surrounded!" Gargoyle 1 said. I observed the surroundings. We were outnumbered, and the drones knew that. So they began to circle us to maybe box us in and then crush us in the middle. _I ain't dying here, _I told myself. I gunned the throttle to full afterburner and dove into the middle of the swarm. I achieved a lock and easily bagged two kills with my ASRAAMs before switching to my sidewinders and bagging two more kills before mowing down a couple more with some 20mm fire. But the drones we're quick to adapt and it got more difficult.

"These guys are definitely a step above the last drones," Clown noted.

"Damn they're agile. And there's too many of them." Gargoyle 1 also noted.

"These guys won't go down easy." Footpad said. He had a darker tone in his voice than from earlier, can't say I blame him though. And Boggard was quiet as well. The little bet that we had earlier was now far from our thought. There only one thing on all of our minds right now. And that was to survive.

I went for another pass, quickly bagging two more, before gaining some distance to turn around and line up for another pass. Just as I was turning, Sky Keeper finally came up on the radio. "All aircraft, no change in game plan," He informed us. "Destroy the Arsenal Bird." He ordered.

"We're up against that thing? God help us." A Gargoyle member said.

"Wilco," I merely acknowledged. I finished my turn and dove in for another pass into the swarm of drones before pulling up and around to get behind the Arsenal Bird's giant propellers.

"Golem Squadron, take out big Baby Huey!" Knocker ordered. I heard a bunch of 'rogers' on the radio before the F/A-18Es of Golem squadron circled around to get behind the Arsenal Bird as well.

The Big Bird was very slow compared to us and its drones, but that didn't mean it was gonna come down in a few shots. And since it was slow we had to slow down as well to get a proper lock and hit with a missile, that would make us a fine target for the drones or the Bird's own built-in missile launcher system. I was able to level of behind it and lock on to one of its propellers and I fired a bunch of missiles and even shot out a quick burst from my cannon before having to break off so I don't get blown up. I noticed that the Golem guys (and girl) were doing the hit-and-run strategy I was doing. And it was working a little bit.

"I can't get a lock." One of the Gargoyle members said.

Just as he said that a Skeleton member chimed in. "Look at that light from the Arsenal Bird!" He pointed out. I looked over to it and there was this circle of light that formed above the Arsenal Bird. _What is this? _I asked myself. Some sort of ECM that was screwing with our targeting system perhaps? Whatever it is though, I didn't like it.

"What's going on here?!" One of the Gargoyle members demanded.

His flight lead didn't answer his question, instead, he said, "Split up! Find your own targets!" _No no no no no, _I thought to myself, my former flight lead nature kicking in. _Stick together and burn through the swarm. You're much harder to attack as a group than as individuals. _I couldn't say that though since it would compromise me, and no one would listen to me anyway.

"Skeleton 1! Check six! Commander!" His wingman warned him. But it was too late. I saw a missile slam into the tail section of Skeleton 1's F-16 before it entered into a spinning dive.

"They got me!" Skeleton 1 said before the line went static. I saw the fighter explode in mid-air before the rest of the wreckage started careening towards the ground. There was no parachute. _Goddamn, _this was really not looking good for us.

"Damn. Skelton 1 lost." Sky Keeper informed. "Skeleton 2, take over command.

"Gargoyle Squadron, this is Gargoyle 1." Gargoyle 1 called out to his wingmen. "Skeleton Squadron needs help." He told them.

"The hell are we supposed to do?!" Another Gargoyle member asked back. Well right now, just continue shooting down the drones. That's pretty much all any of us can do really.

After a full minute of dodging missiles, Knocker came up on the comms again. "Status?" He asked.

"Verifying the situation." Sky Keeper answered.

"You may wanna step on it, Sky Keeper." I found myself saying. I had to leave the Arsenal Bird alone for a little bit to help out a couple of my allies who were being chased by drones.

"These bandits are fast as hell!" Brownie pointed out. I looked over to where she was, she was being trailed by a drone but everyone else was too occupied by the drones that were also chasing them that they couldn't help. I was a good thousand meters away from her as well and if I left now, the two allied fighters in front of me could be shot down. So I decided to stay put and continue supporting.

"Golem 2! Missile! Evade!" Boggard called out to Brownie. I stopped breathing at that point.

"Evading!" She said before pulling a high-G turn to throw off the missile. But it was futile, the missile scored a direct hit.

"This is Golem 3," Boggard called out to the rest of us." Golem 2 is hit!" He informed. Suddenly I was thrown back against my seat.

_This is Yellow 4, the Ribbon's on me!_

_Yellow 4, get out of there now!_

_Shit! I'm hit!_

_Eject now!_

_Yellow 4, come in._

_Yellow 4?_

I gasped as I snapped back into reality. That could've gotten me or my allies killed. I really needed to keep myself in check before I screw anything up. _Focus Ryan. Keep it together now. _

"Status report!" Knocker demanded. I myself wanted to know how Brownie was doing. But about 30 seconds passed without a reply. So Knocker spoke again. "Shit! Golem 2 do you copy?" He asked again.

"Golem 2 come in," I said.

Then finally she spoke. "This is Golem 2. Instruments still appear to be functioning okay." She reported, and Knocker didn't say anything else. Although, I had a hard time trusting her word.

"Are you sure about that, Golem 2?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I'm good. I can still fight," I was very skeptical with that answer. _Tell that to Yellow 4._

"Okay," I replied. "But as a precaution, even if you _feel _like you're coming to a tight spot, I want you outta here or at least climb to the ceiling where they can't pick you off." I was actually not thinking when I said that, it was a sort of conditioned response on my part. And obviously, I attracted the attention of Knocker.

"Now hold up there Trigger." He began. "Just worry about yourself and the mission for now. I'll keep an eye on her." He told me. Something tells me that he knows something I don't. "But he's right Brownie. If it comes to it, I also want you outta here. No questions asked. Understand?"

"Yes, sir." She replied.

"Good. Now onto the objective." He said. I quickly disposed of two more drones to give my allies more room to breathe before lining up for an attack on the Arsenal Bird's propellers again.

"Skeleton 3! Break! Break!" Skelton 2 warned his ally. But it was too late.

"Missile…" The line went static as a missile tore off the left-wing of another Skeleton F-16. And just like his leader, there was no parachute. _Shit._

"We lost another friendly!" A Gargoyle member said.

"Skeleton 3 is lost." Sky Keeper informed the rest of us.

"They just keep coming! What's the plan?" Gargoyle 1 demanded.

"Where's that report?" Knocker also demanded.

Sky keeper patched us in with HQ so they could tell us themselves. "Continue to maintain air superiority," was all command said.

"HQ, what's happening?" Sky Keeper asked them, seeming to be agitated as well from the lack of intel.

"Sky Keeper, I repeat, maintain air superiority." HQ repeated.

"What the hell do you think we've been doing for the past five minutes?" I retorted. "It's not like we were going sightseeing or shit." I was getting really annoyed at this. At least we were actually hurting the Big Bird, I could see a few of its propellers stop spinning. I went to engage the Arsenal Bird again before Skelton squadron piped up again.

"How'd that happen?!" One of them asked.

"Huh?!" Knocker said.

"What?" I asked

"What the hell?!" Sky Keeper exclaimed. "Caution! All aircraft, stay alert!" He told us. I noticed that on my radar a red circle formed around the Arsenal Bird. And suddenly a huge glowing ball formed around it in front of me, and I narrowly avoided flying into it.

"Get out of there!" Gargoyle 1 ordered.

"Breaking!" Clown said.

"Evade!" Another Gargoyle member said.

Most of us were able to stay clear of the forcefield just in time. But some of us weren't so lucky.

"Controls are out!" Skeleton 4 said before his line went static.

"I'm breaking up!" Skeleton 2 went the same way as his wingman. And I didn't see a parachute again for both. Skeleton Squadron was just wiped out.

"Skeleton 2 and 4...Lost," Sky keeper said solemnly. "Skeleton Squadron is down. We've had too many losses." He added. "All squadrons, command has ordered a complete withdrawal. Leave the operation area immediately." _Friggin finally._

"Brilliant observation," A Gargoyle member said sarcastically. "If they'd noticed earlier, more of us would've survived to hear it!"

"Amen to that." I agreed.

"Save your chatter for the debriefing." Sky Keeper told us. "Golem and Mage Squadron. Give our allies some time to escape." He ordered.

"Wilco. But Golem 2's hit. Gotta send 'er back," Knocker said.

"Let's get dirty, Trigger!" Clown told me.

I smiled again. "Roger that."

"Shoot down those UAVs! Don't let them touch any friendlies." Sky Keeper ordered, and our mission was updated once again.

"Golem 2, head back to base." Knocker told her.

"Gargoyle 1, escort Golem 2." Sky Keeper said.

"Continuing the mission. Still got my wings." _Oh Jesus, not this shit. _"Trigger doesn't need to fill in for me. I'm back, an-" Fortunately, Knocker cut her off.

"I thought we had an understanding earlier," He said. "You won't make a difference up here. Get back to base and cool your head." He ordered her. _Thank God for you, Knocker._

It took a second for her to reply, "Copy that! Returning home." She said with venom in her voice. Ouch, she'll most definitely give me an earful at the base later. But at least she obeyed and didn't protest any further, thus, she'll live, and that's what's important.

With that out of my head, I immediately scanned the area for any targets. I saw a pair of drones moving in for an attack so I immediately latched onto them. I quickly locked onto them and fired a pair of ASRAAMs at them, destroying them, before moving on again, and again. I managed to bag another 8 kills in a span of two and a half minutes. And I wasn't done yet.

"That's it, Trigger! They're machines. Don't show 'em any mercy." Clown told me.

"Wasn't planning to," I replied as I armed more of my missiles. Clown and I formed up together and moved into a squad of drones. We engaged, two for the both of us. The four drones were instantly eviscerated.

"Mage Squadron, you're going toe to toe with the UAVs. Good work." Sky Keeper complimented.

"Thanks, Sky Keeper," I replied. Clown and I broke off our formation and went to engage our own targets. I saw Clown dive onto a drone for a knife fight.

"That's it, baby. Come to papi," Clown said. That made me raise an eyebrow but I didn't mind it. The number of UAVs was now dwindling. The rest of us may just get out of this unscathed. And I might still wring Boggard and Footpad for my money later at the base. Right now, they're probably hoping that I forgot about our bet earlier when all the chaos ensued.

"More UAVs spotted! Gargoyle Squadron, they might cut off your retreat!" Sky Keeper warned them. _Goddamnit. _I checked my radar and saw Gargoyle Squadron almost at the edge of the AO being trailed by a bunch of hostile blips. There were only a few of them and I had faith in Gargoyle to make it out since they didn't take too much damage. So I wasn't too worried, and so I continued to engage the drones on my end. _Where the hell did those drones come from anyway? _I wondered. And I continued to track this one drone in front of me. This one was extra annoying since it kept turning to avoid my lock. But all it was delay the inevitable. I was gonna kill it no matter what.

"My status is fine. Affirmative." _What? _The transmission ID says it's unknown, so it may be a stray enemy signal, just like before. That would've been fine if it weren't for the fact it was actually giving me chills. And that wasn't the scary part. The scary part is the fact that the voice of this 'person' sounded _very_ familiar. As in _terrifyingly_ familiar. But I couldn't think about it now, especially since we're nearly out of this.

"This is Gargoyle 1. Leaving operation airspace with Golem 2," Gargoyle 1 reported. _Good. _I can now relax a little bit. The enemy shouldn't follow them across the border into our side. Minus one problem for now.

"I could use a little help here." Footpad said. I looked over to his part of the area and saw that he was being chased by a trio of drones. I banked my falcon and went over to assist.

"This is Mage 2. I got you Golem 4." I replied. I moved in the back of the drones and tried to line up for a lock.

"Retreating aircraft, prepare for combat! It's a bogey!" _Shit. Please, no. _"Gargoyle 1, Golem 2! Engage now! Attack!" I checked my radar. At the spot where they were, there was only one bandit that looked to be heading in to engage them. But at the same time, they were in a position that if they retreated at full afterburner out of the AO, it would only take them another 20-30 seconds. I mean it's no shame to run when you're not in a condition to fight anyway.

"One bandit, Su-30!" Gargoyle 1 reported.

"Gargoyle 1 caution! Missile!" Brownie cried out to him.

"He's fast! It's like he-" His line suddenly went static. _This was not good._

"Sky Keeper. Gargoyle 1 lost." Brownie reported.

"What the hell?!" Sky Keeper said. I'm also wondering the same thing. Sure Gargoyle 1 was damaged but he could've still put up a good fight, so him being downed that quickly suggests that we're dealing with not just any ordinary pilot here. "Golem 2, status report!" Sky Keeper demanded. Instead of a real reply, all we got back was the sound of Brownie struggling. "Just talk to me!" Sky Keeper encouraged her.

"I'm against...An Su-30!" She said before pausing to breath. She was hyperventilating. "I-I can see him since he's close enough." More quick and deep breaths. "A-an Su-30. Orange wingtips." More hyperventilating. She was repeating herself. _This is really not good. _"I-I-I," Her breaths seemed to be getting deeper. She was panicking. _Shit. _"I-I can't shake it off. It's matching me move for move!" _What? _Matching her move for move, who does that? I've never seen anyone do that before. As far as I know, no one has ever done that, not the Ribbon, not the Demon Lord, or even me. _Wait. _Actually, there is one person. _No, no, that can't be right. _

"Golem 2, stop dogfighting and run!" Knocker ordered her. She was still trying to engage the bogey, following Sky Keeper's original orders. But her messed up state of mind paired up with her natural stubbornness got the better of her.

I quickly eliminated the last drone on Footpad's tail before breaking off to clear up more drones. "Good kill, Mage 2!" Sky Keeper said.

"Thanks for that, Trigger!" Footpad said.

"Don't mention it," I replied.

"Golem and Mage Squadron! Help us!" One of the other Gargoyle members called out to us.

"Get those UAVs off of our friends!" Clown ordered.

"Wilco," I replied as I made a beeline to assist Gargoyle Squadron.

"The longer it takes, the worse our odds of getting out of here are. Machines don't get tired." Knocker reminded us.

As I approached, I saw missile dink one of the Gargoyle F-14s, but it looks like he could still fly. "An ally's hit! Golem and Mage, move in to provide support!"

"Let's move! They're ours!" Knocker said.

I moved in and achieved a missile lock then fired a pair of missiles. "Mage 2! Missile Launch!" The first missile found its target but the second one was lost, so I finished it with some cannon fire. "Thatta boy, Mage 2. Just keep firing." Knocker complimented. I welcomed it since Knocker doesn't always give compliments. Then I moved onto another target.

"This is for who we lost!" One of the Gargoyle members yelled as he fired a missile at the drone.

"Let Golem and Mage Squadrons handle it. They'll pull through." Another Gargoyle member said.

"Get your asses out!" Sky Keeper told them. "Mage 2, provide cover for allied retreat." He instructed.

"Copy that," I replied, and went ahead and locked on a couple more drones and fired at them, one missile each. Both missiles found their mark and the drones went down.

"Mage 2, UAV down. Keep it up, buddy." Sky Keeper encouraged me. I smiled at that, not a lot of people calls me buddy.

"Fort Grays aircraft, we'll let you take it easy next time." A Gargoyle member told us.

I turned and headed to intercept another drone group that was moving in for an attack. But as I was headed there, I heard Brownie's voice again.

"I'm dead meat," She said in a dark tone. I quickly checked my radar again. _What the hell are you still doing there, Brownie? _I could also hear her hyperventilating mixed with the missile lock warning sound through the comms. "I-I don't get it. Why isn't it opening fire?" She frustration and confusion mixing in her voice. "I'm scared! I'm scared!" And that got to me. I knew and liked Brownie for being one tough cookie, seeing her - or rather hearing her - like this was burning me up from inside. _Who the fuck is this asshole?! _Seriously, who does that? It's an unwritten law in combat: if you're gonna shoot down your enemy, then just shoot them down, no need for any extra _cruelty. _Hell, this is actually a war crime, even for Erusea. Trust me, I know.

"Just hang in there a little bit more, Brownie! I'll get to ya!" I called out to her, hoping to reassure her a little.

"Please just get here, Trigger." She begged.

"This is not good," Clown noted. _Clearly._

"Brownie, break off and get the hell outta there!" Knocker ordered her. But if this psycho, really is a psycho, then he isn't gonna let Brownie out of this alive. Time was running out for her, I needed to get to her now. But in order for me to do that, I had to plow through the drones. So plow through the drones I did. I stopped paying attention to my surroundings and began tearing a hole through the swarm.

"Does Mage Squadron still have their hotshot?" A Gargoyle member asked.

"Yeah, I think so." One of his wingmates replied.

"Then we might just make it out." Well, it was nice to hear that people were giving me such credit.

"Don't look back. Just have faith," Another Gargoyle member said. "Golem and Mage, we owe you debt, and we'll pay it."

"Alright, I'll hold you guys to it," I replied to them as I fought the drones.

Another couple minutes passed and I was still fighting the drones. I didn't relent. Anything that comes in front of me that I can shoot at, I kill it. So now I had a new problem, I was running low on ammo. But it seems that my kill-kill-kill strategy was working.

"Hell of a job Mage 2. We want as many guys outta here as possible." Knocker complimented. Would you look at that, that was the second time he complimented me today.

"I'm grateful you're around!" A Gargoyle member told me. Alright now, this was just too flattering.

"Thank guys," I told them. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw two drones latch onto Knocker. I turned and went to assist him. But he had other ideas, and I can't blame him.

"Trigger, go and assist Brownie. I'll be fine here." He ordered me. I didn't hesitate. That's what I wanted to hear, not that I was gonna wait for it in the first place.

"Wilco, Golem 1!" I said and immediately turned and gunned my engine to full afterburner to get to Brownie faster.

"Golem 2, what's your status?" Knocker asked her. But no reply came. "Status report! Talk to me Brownie!" He demanded with worry in his voice.

"He's a predator. The weak get eaten." Her voice was barely above a whisper. The fear has completely consumed her by now, and now it's most likely screwing with her decision making. I checked my radar, the bandit and her were still at the same spot as earlier. It was still about half a minute more before I reach the max range for my missiles to lock on, and I was already passing Mach 2.0. But she may not have half a minute left. I'm not expecting the missiles to take him out; only distract him from Brownie and give her more time to escape. Time that she may not have. _Come on, come on, come on._

"Golem 2, get a hold of yourself!" Knocker told her. "Golem 2, get away from the enemy!" This was new from Knocker. He sounded, worried. I've seen him like this since I was assigned to Mage. _Almost there._

I could feel the vibrations on the airframe get more and more violent as I sliced through the sky, pushing the Falcon to its limits. I'm not supposed to be going this fast at this low of an altitude or I risk my wing snapping off. I was even unaware of the warnings in my cockpit telling and showing me that the engine's temperature was red-lining and that if I don't take it easy it might fail. But I didn't care. The only thing in my mind at that moment was my need to get to Sarah as ASAP.

"Just get out of there, Brownie!" I told her. "GET OUT NOW!" _Just a few more seconds! COME ON!_

"Mage 2! Support!" She cried out helplessly. _Fuckfuckfuck!_

Suddenly, I heard the continuous high pitched pinging of two infrared seeker heads locking onto a target. "MAGE 2, FOX 2!" I yelled as I let fly two ASRAAMs which zoomed to meet their target. I held my breath. But it was too late.

"Somebody!" She cried out through the missile warning alarms. "Support!" She cried out for one last time before the line was cut. _No. _I dove down to the ground to look for her. And as I was just entering the clouds, out of the corner of my eye I saw the silhouette of a Flanker emerging from the clouds. But I didn't care about that right now. I blew through the clouds until I reached the deck. And my worst fear was confirmed. There was a smoldering wreck of an airplane that took out a bunch of trees. I lowered my altitude a bit more and, due to my experience, I knew it was a wreck of an F-18. I maintained a circling pattern to really confirm.

"Golem 2...Lost." Sky Keeper sighed, and that was all he said. What else could he say?

"SHIT!" Knocker yelled.

"What?!" Boggard exclaimed.

"No. Th-that can't be right," Footpad said, probably on the verge of crying. "Trigger, you're over there. Tell him he's wrong!"

I was still circling the burning wreckage of Brownie's F-18. As much as I didn't want to, I had to. I sighed. "They got her, Footpad. She's gone," I told solemnly. "I'm sorry."

"Damnit!" Boggard exclaimed.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. This was just another bad dream, right? It had to be. Once I open my eyes I would back on my bed at Fort Grays, waking up just in time before Brownie comes barging in and hitting me with a pillow to wake me up. Then I would stand up, nearly crush her in a tight bear hug and be glad that she's okay and here with me. Then I would promptly quit the Air Force with her, marry her, and become a crop duster in some cornfield in southern Osea with our newly formed family and live the rest of our lives happily. Sounds cliché, but I'll take it any day.

Yes! That has to be the case! That _needs _to be the case.

But, when I opened my eyes I was exceptionally disappointed to see that I was still sitting in the cockpit of my piece of shit F-16 as I continued to circle Brownie's wreck. I felt my blood boil inside of me as my breathing became erratic and my grip on the stick tighten, threatening to snap it off.

"GODDAMNIT!" I yelled before I smacked my canopy, pure unadulterated rage coursing through my veins. "MOTHER-FUCKER!" I stomped at the floor of the inside of my cockpit.

"Mage 2, get ahold of yourself!" Knocker ordered. But I growled back.

"Trigger! Calm down! That's an order!" Clown ordered me. That got me listening, I've never heard him be so stern before. I then took deep breaths and forced myself to calm down. "We're not yet fully out of this yet, Trigger! So get yourself together! Do I make myself clear?" He reminded. There were still some more drones left and that guy could come back. I took a deep breath and replied.

"Yes, sir," I replied. Clown didn't say anything back.

"Bandit is down," a voice said through the radio. It was the same one from earlier. That had to be the guy who took out Brownie, who reporting in to confirm his kill. But, I knew there was no point in trying to find him, he was most likely way out of the AO by now.

As if Knocker read my mind, he came upon the radio. "Sky Keeper, where's the one that got Brownie?" He asked him.

"Afraid he's long gone by now." He replied. "Sorry." I heard Knocker probably say something but it was muffled so I didn't get it. I decided that right now I had to focus, or else someone might just end up like Brownie as well. And I just wanted to get back to base so I can clear my head properly.

I flew back towards the furball and engaged the rest of the drones. There were only about four left so it was no big deal. I immediately cleaned them up with the help of my allies. Then I leveled out beside Clown.

"All UAVs have been splashed." Sky Keeper reported. His voice indicated that he wasn't happy with the outcome of the mission, but he was gladder that it was over, that no one else has to die, for today at least.

"I said what I had to say." Knocker hissed.

"About _what_?" Clown demanded.

"Not a girl who'd retreat. Just not in her DNA."

"That was the right decision at the time," Clown replied. "She was in no condition to fight with a beat-up airplane."

"No, I should've never let a fledgling like her out of my reach, to begin with." Knickers sighed, sounding defeated.

"Golem Squadron, Mage Squadron, withdraw." Sky Keeper ordered.

"Alright boys, lets head home." Knocker said as we all formed up and climbed up to cruising altitude.

* * *

**AN: And that is that ladies and gentlemen. Sorry for the long wait, I got bogged down in school and it was rough. But I'm back now for the time being. And oh yeah, if you think this chapter was rough, wait till you see the next one. That's it for now, thank you for reading and peace out. **


	6. Revelations

30/05/2019

18:13

Fort Grays Island

7°58'25" S, 9°25'50" W

We had to rendezvous with another tanker to refuel before heading back home. That fight really dried up our tanks. And throughout the whole flight home, we all stayed silent.

We arrived back at the base around the time just after sunset. We all did landing procedures and put our fighters on the ground and parked it. After that, we all headed into the briefing room for debriefing, much to our dismay. We all sat down and waited for the base commander to begin. He didn't look to be in a good mood either.

"Hello, everyone," He greeted as he started up the presentation. "I would've said good evening but obviously that's not the case here. And, I know you're all worn out so I'll make this short so you can all get some rest," he began, "Unfortunately, the two front offensive was a failure. The aircraft carrier Kestrel II was sunk during the attack on Farbanti." He told us. "Carrier-borne aircraft mistakenly bombed urban areas, and this has turned public opinion in neutral countries against us." He paced to the other side of the room. "Our own forces also suffered heavy losses," he looked up at us. "If it weren't for a few extraordinary fighters, many of us wouldn't have made it home. The situation is grim." He noted. "We have precious little time, however. We have to get to the space elevator." He reminded us. "But, despite the outcome of the mission, and our unfortunate loss, you guys did well out there today, especially you, Trigger." He pointed to me. I could feel all the eyes pointing at me, but I didn't feel anything. "Anyway, you all earned your leave for now but be on standby in case anything new comes up. And I asked the mess hall staff to remain open until 2200 tonight. So if you wanna grab a quick bite then go ahead. That's all, dismissed." And with that, we all left.

I headed to the mess hall to grab a bite. Hopefully, I can choke on a sandwich or maybe drown myself in coffee or something to free me from this nightmare. After that, I headed down to talk to the base commander, maybe he might know about any SAR missions over at Chopinburg. As I closed in to his office door, Knocker stepped out of it and I stopped to salute him. He saluted back and I put my hand down.

"You can drop the formalities, Trigger. I don't give much of a damn about it anyway." He smiled. "It's good you were headed this way, I was just gonna go look for you. Where ya headed?" He asked. Why would he be looking for me?

"Um, I was headed to talk to the base commander as well, sir," I replied coolly.

"What did you want to talk to him about?"

"Uh, I was just hoping if they launched a SAR operation to find any downed pilots, sir," I explained.

His expression darkened. "I just talked to him about that."

"What'd he say?"

He sighed, "Satellites continued to pick up the Arsenal Bird's signature in the AO for a full hour after we left. It picked up the signatures of its drones as well. It bought enough time for the main Erusean forces to move in and secure the area. So if we sent a search party, they might just get torn apart by the drones and enemy ground-based defenses." Knocker explainer. "Besides, at that altitude, she couldn't have survived. I'm sorry, Trigger."

I sighed as well, trying to keep my composure. "I understand," I said. "Oh, and I apologize as well for my behavior earlier. I don't know what got into me, it all just hit me so fast that I…" I tried to find the words to continue, but I couldn't.

Knocker waved it off, "Oh it's fine, Trigger. I completely understand. This isn't any easier for me as it is for you, especially since I'm the flight lead. And she was my friend too and a valuable asset to the team. If I was you, I would've lost it."

"Right, I see," I said. "Now, my turn to ask, why were you gonna go look for me?"

"Well, someone had to go pack up Brownie's stuff so we can ship it back to her family in Osea. And I figured that it's only right you do it since you're the closest one to her on this base."

I raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

Knocker chuckled a little bit, "Don't play dumb, Trigger. We all know about you and Brownie," I was gonna say something but he beat me to it. "We took the window seat at that bar we went to a couple of nights before. It wasn't too hard to look out and see you two getting, close," he told me. "I just _ordered _the guys to keep their mouths shut about it or they were on night duty for a month." He explained.

I found myself blushing a little bit and tried to say something in defense but I knew I was caught. I sighed, "Well, she was something." I merely said.

"Yeah, she was," Knocker agreed. "Anyway, you should get going. Oh and here, take this," he said, handing me a folder.

"What's this?"

"Brownie's personal OADF file, maybe you'd like to take a look at it," He told me. I smiled.

"Thanks, Captain," I said. He smiled back at me.

"Don't mention it," he said and walked off, and we parted ways.

I walked over to the females' side of the housing complex and made my way to Brownie's room. I brought with me her personal file as well as a trolley with four plastic containers on it. I walked Brownie back to her room a couple of times, so I knew her room number. But I've never actually been inside of her room. I had a few glimpses, but nothing useful.

As I walked there, I reflected on the events of today, especially my behavior. I've never felt anger and sadness to that degree before, I also never lost it like the way I did earlier. I thought I reached my pinnacle when I lost Four 15 years ago. It's probably due to how they reacted. Yellow 4 wasn't afraid, she knew the risks, prepared for it, and accepted it. Brownie, on the other hand, knew the risks as well and was also pretty tough, but her lack of experience didn't harden her enough, and most importantly, Yellow 4 wasn't toyed by the enemy the way Brownie was. That would've really screwed up with someone's head. It made me sick just thinking about it. Whoever that asshole was, he was not real pilot like the Ribbon was. And now I felt another thing I haven't felt in a really long time. Hatred, with a passion. I wanted to find this guy and toy with him while giving him false hope like how he did it with Brownie. I felt that it would've been satisfying to watch.

Speaking of that _guy_, I also can't get the thought on how familiar-sounding the guy was when I heard him on the radio. I didn't see how he flew so it could've been anyone really, but his voice gave it away a little bit. I searched through the archives in my head for a match, there was only one match. But it wasn't right, _he's_ too old to fly these days, the high-G maneuvers he'd have to pull in a combat operation would screw up his body. But, if it was right and I go against him again, I don't think I'd last too long. Yeah, I beat him in air-to-air before, but I only did at great cost.

All this thinking made me stop paying attention to my surroundings and before I knew it, I was already at Brownie's room. I pulled out the extra key card that was given to me and I unlocked the door before I entered. Her room was, typical. Bed, shelf, desk, dresser, window, TV, mini-fridge, the same stuff I had in my room mostly. It also kept the same blue and white wall paint. I didn't judge, I liked the minimalist touch. What stood out though was a few posters and a flag of San Salvacion.

_I wonder why she has that. _

The posters were really neat, there was a vintage 50's, early Cold War era OADF recruitment poster with a picture of an F-86 Sabre on it. There was also a Green Day and Nirvana posters hanging on the wall. Looks like she's got good taste. Then I moved to inspect the shelf. There were a bunch of books on it, one of them was Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October. I loved that book, but I hated subs. There were also two model airplanes. One of them was an F/A-18E, just like her fighter. The other was an Su-37, but it had the Yellow Squadron paint scheme on it, not only that but it also had the number 013 on the side.

I smiled, _Would you look at that. I got a fan. _

While looking through her stuff was stupidly fun, it was also time-consuming, and I wanted to go to sleep soon. So I began packing up Brownie's stuff. I started with her clothes, I made sure to fold each one of them as neatly as possible. Her underwear though, I don't want to talk about that. Then I moved onto her other stuff like her laptop and cellphone. I was also very careful in taking down her posters so they don't get damaged. And I even put the two model airplanes in a separate container together so they don't get damaged as well. I then proceeded to the picture frames. The pictures warmed my heart, there was one from last year's Christmas party, we were all wearing Santa hats. There was also a picture of me and her, our first picture together. It was during New Year's eve at that time. And there was one of a younger Brownie graduating from the Air Force Academy with her father, her father who seemed oddly familiar for some reason. And the next one really made my jaw drop. I was in the picture but so was Yellow 4, the harmonica kid, and the barkeep's daughter. It was in that cafe we all hung out in years ago.

_Now, why would she have this? _

She didn't have a reason to have it, and it doesn't make sense for it to be a souvenir.

_She'd only keep this if she's… _I stood up and sat down at the desk where I left her personal file, grabbed it, and opened front page displayed a picture of her in her dress uniform. She looked absolutely beautiful in it as well by the way. I scanned the information that was listed.

Full name: Castellano, Sarah J.

Birthdate(mm/dd/yyyy): 09-05-1993

Sex: Female

Age: 26

Birthplace: San Salvacion, Usea

_Wait, what? _I continued reading the file.

Hair color: Blonde

Eye color: Blue

Height: 5.7 ft

I looked down some more and I found it.

Additional information: Daughter to a barkeeper in a local cafe in San Salvacion. Came in contact with an elite Erusean fighter squadron that was stationed in the area during the war in 2004. Helped orchestrate the death of one of the members of said fighter squadron.

_Was I reading this correctly?_

Immigrated with father to Osea in 2006 after Usean Continental War. Attended and graduated Oured university with honors before entering the Air Force academy. Assigned to IUN-PKF fighter squadron at Fort Grays island after graduation from AF academy.

I sat back to reel in from this revelation. _Holy shit. _I thought. Brownie is the barkeep's daughter which means, she killed Yellow 4. Well, I've already come to terms with it a long time ago. The squadron and I invaded their country, so they did the logical thing, they fought back. But why didn't she tell me sooner? Maybe she was just scared, that seemed logical.

_Oh, Sarah, _I thought. She was most definitely waiting for the time to tell me and to maybe apologize for her wrongdoings. It was unfortunate, however, that she'll never be able to do it. And, I also won't be able to show her how I really feel. "I'm so sorry Sarah," I said. I even told her that I'll keep her safe, but look at what happened. Sometimes I wonder if the enemy really was just better, or I was just a shitty flight lead, that it cost the lives of, not just Four, but all those other Yellows. Yellows that were under my command. Maybe that was another reason why I lost it earlier. When Four died, she almost didn't say anything about it, she just went quiet. When Brownie died just earlier though, she called out my name to help her. No, she practically begged for me, she begged for anyone, to come and help her. But it never came, I never came. I failed to keep her safe just after I said I would. It only shows how shitty of a person in general I am. Which is why it's probably best to not let anyone get too close to me. I mean, the Ribbon hardly worked with anyone during the last war, and as far as I know, no one was ever close to him, and just look at what he is right now. So yeah, it may be for the best. But it wasn't any easier to think about.

I sighed, closing the file and setting it aside. I couldn't get my mind mixed up about all of this. We were at war right now, and if I screw up in the slightest up there, then that could be the end of it for not just me, but everyone around me. That's why I decided to just put it behind me for now and I'll just go over it again when all this mess has been dealt with. That's just the reality of things.

I felt tears start to well in my eyes and before I even realized it I was sobbing completely. I buried my face in my hands and tried my damned hardest to compose my self. But it was no use. I let my head fall on the desk and smacked one of my fist on the desk in anger.

"Goddamnit, Brownie," I said, mostly to myself. Was it wrong to act like this? Of course not, this was how a soldier should act, and I'm just being logical. But it still feels wrong, no matter what way I put it.

I sighed and rubbed the tears off of my face. Flying again may have been a mistake.

Between sniffles, I stood back up and walked over to the trolley. I pushed it out of the room and closed the door. I headed over to the main building to deposit her stuff. I filled out the paperwork and left her stuff there, and it was up to the ground crew to do the rest of the work. A transport from the mainland carrying mail and supplies was coming in tomorrow so the stuff was just gonna come with it when it heads back. After that, I headed straight to my room and went to bed. I lost my appetite that night.

**AN: That's all for now folks! Sorry for taking a long time to update and if this chapter is disappointing to read. I've been trying to get my head to work a way to spice it up some more but I just couldn't get anything out of it. It's chapters like this that really get me. But everything else seems to be fine by the looks of things. Anyway thanks for reading, and see ya in the next chapter!**


	7. Rescue

04/06/2019

13:00

Fort Grays Island

7°58'25" S, 9°25'50" W

"Sir, I think I misunderstood. Can you say that again?" I asked Knocker, completely dumbfounded on what I was hearing.

"You're being chosen to spearhead this operation, Trigger," He replied. "You can do it."

I leaned back against my chair. What the hell is happening, you might ask? Well, apparently command has chosen me to spearhead an upcoming mission, alone. Well, for only a few minutes at the first and second part, after I blow up the enemy defenses they'll come in and support me. But according to my experience, even if only recent, it only takes a few seconds for things to quickly go to shit.

"What do you say, Trigger?" Knocker asked.

I threw my arms up. "Well...I don't know," I said. "This is a mess, sir."

Knocker sighed, agreeing with me. "Yup," he said. "But apparently, you're the best pilot we've got."

I chuckled a little bit at his statement. "It's still a hell of a mission, sir. I'm just afraid I'll screw something up." I told him.

Knocker knew what I felt so he put a hand on my shoulder. "As I said, you'll be just fine. We'll be right outside the AO, and once those defenses are gone it should be all good from there. The rest of the details will be explained better in the briefing tomorrow anyway." He said.

I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess," I said. "Is that all, sir?"

"Yes, you're dismissed, Trigger." Knocker saluted me and I returned it and left. I entered my room and threw myself on the bed.

What the hell happened back there, you may ask? Well, I'd just finished taking a shower after my morning exercise routine and was headed to the mess hall for an early lunch. Then I was suddenly ambushed by Clown and he brought me to Knocker's office and left so that I could be briefed. And Knocker just explained that I was the best pilot in they had. He didn't really say that, but if you're gonna piece it together than it would summarize to that. And then he told me that the higher-ups pulled me to spearhead the next operation. Knocker gave the file with the mission details, and man oh man, it's a hell of a mission alright.

"You're the best pilot we've got," I thought out loud, mimicking the way Knocker had said it. I chuckled, of course, I am. But it doesn't make me any less nervous, however. I've never flown solo before, and I only racked up kills in the last war because Yellow squadron was there to back me up. They're mostly the reason that made me Yellow 13. So this mission makes me uneasy. I groaned into my pillow, "What the hell did I get myself into?" I asked myself. I think I should've stayed 'dead'. I don't think it would have made much of a difference. And now that I think about it, commercial aviation or even just crop dusting on some Osean farmland wouldn't have been so bad. But of course, my pride and my natural dumbass nature just had to drag me back into the cockpit of a fighter so I could do loop-d-loops and feel the Gs push the blood into my head.

I deflated more into my bed. I gotta watch myself and be more careful if I go deeper into this, otherwise, I could be the one killed.

"Or worse," I said as I rolled over to face the ceiling. "I could have something heavier then Brownie on my shoulders." I grabbed my pillow, brought it to my face and groaned even louder. I remove the pillow and continued to stare at the ceiling. But in the end, however, I still can't control everything that happens on the battlefield, and the best I could do is guess. But I'll still do whatever I can to make sure all my team comes home.

I throw away my pillow and got up and went for the door. I almost forgot I hadn't eaten lunch yet, and I could really use a good sandwich to clear my mind.

The next day...

05/06/2019

15:00

About three hours after lunch, I was in my room playing games on my phone when I heard an announcement on the PA telling us pilots to report to the briefing room.

"Damnit," I muttered to myself. "There goes my credit score."

I hopped up from my bed and ran to the briefing room. I entered it and sat down next to Clown. I looked over to Golem squad and noticed that they'd already filled in the gap in their formation. Faun sat in between of Knocker and Boggard as Golem's new number 2. He was part of the base's reserves since all the spots were already filled in in both Mage and Golem before all this happened. I've seen him fly before, and he's also seen action during the initial attack on Fort Grays. The base commander had ordered every aircraft on the base into the air to either fight off the enemy or to just run away and hide so that they don't get trashed while on the ground. He's a good pilot, intelligent and obeys orders like a good soldier. But he's still not as good as Brownie though, but at this point, what the hell can we do about it?

I looked at Knocker. He has on the same face he always wears during a briefing, but I can only imagine what's actually going on inside his head. I feel bad for him, he must be feeling the same thing I felt the first time fewer Yellows came back after a mission. That feeling sucked.

The base commander came in the room and we all stood and he told us all to sit back down so the briefing could start. The map of the continent was displayed on the projector again and the briefing started.

"As proved by the failure of our previous strategy, the Arsenal Birds have bolstered the enemy's anti-air network." He began, and the screen displayed the latest ground the enemy has gained. "This will be difficult to overcome." The screen zoomed in a little bit into the continent and a circle formed with its center on the area near Selatapura where the space elevator would be and on the side showing a picture of the Arsenal Bird. "However, we still need to get swiftly to the space elevator no matter what it takes." He stated. "Someone there is counting on us." The image of the Arsenal Bird disappeared and was replaced by the picture of a man. "The hero of the Circum-Pacific War, and the who spearheaded the construction of the space elevator. Osea's former president, Mr. Harling.

"Mr. Harling was inspecting the elevator when the war broke out. He's been classified as missing since the elevator was taken over by Erusean forces." A new image appeared, it was a schematic of the elevator, with a line linking the picture of Harling to an area on the lower levels. "However, according to the latest intel, a military officer accompanying Mr. Harling hid him inside the facility. Both are waiting for a chance to escape." I raised my eyebrow on his last statement, a little bit. Where did the intel come from? I decided that I'd ponder on it some more later. This time a path from Fort Grays all the way to the elevator was loaded onto the screen. "Enemy anti-air radar network has been set up around the space elevator, it's likely a large squadron would be detected." The displayed zoomed in and showed an area along the coast of the bay where I think I would be coming in from, the space elevator, and the radar red-zone around it. "We will send a single aircraft through the network, and send in a rescue team after." A path was projected from the starting point to the finish which was the elevator. "A number of anti-air radar have been set up around the space elevator. However, our reconnaissance suggests their network is weakest along the southeastern coast of Selatapura. So we can elude the enemy's observation." The display continued to spin around the AO. "And there are a lot of rainclouds this time of year. Flying through the clouds will enable us to stay hidden from their radar." He stated. "And, if you happen to be detected by their radar, we will be forced to abort the mission." He explained. Now I can hear the quiet whispers of my colleagues to each other on who might be the one to fly solo. I already knew. "The lone pilot who will lead up this strategy is you, Trigger." I could feel a lot of eyes fix onto my position and my personal pilot's insignia was displayed on the screen. "After you bust through, secure the rescue crafts landing zone by taking out the anti-air weapons. Golem and others will arrive shortly for support. Provide escort for Mr. Harling's craft after rendezvous." He explained and looked at me. "How're you feeling, Trigger?" He asked.

"I dunno, I guess I'm just a little eager to go out and whoop some ass again, sir," I said sparking some laughter from the people around me.

The commander smiled. "Wonderful. Be sure to prep your aircraft within this day. Be sure it's good to fly and fight, and that it's armed to the teeth. But be done by today only. First thing tomorrow, all of you will launch." The display began to turn shut down. "That's all. Good luck everyone. Dismissed." And with that, we all left the room.

We all headed to the hangars to begin aircraft preparations. After I was making sure my plane was in top condition, with all systems and functions working perfectly, I began to choose from the weapons rack. Since most of the mission is on the ground, I decided that the Paveway III's were my best bet to easily blow up enemy ground units and to make sure they stayed dead even with only a bomb per target. Beside's I think I can easily hold my own against enemy fighters, even the drones, with just the regular AIM-9L's. So that was that. Afterward, I needed to eat dinner so I could go to sleep early.

06/06/2019

18:00

Gunther Bay

2°23'22" N, 56°10'49" W

The only thing I had time to eat after I woke up this morning was a BLT sandwich, a nice one to be exact. And I made sure to get some caffeine into my system as well. I knew I had no access to food until we returned to base, so I brought two extra sandwiches and a bottle of water with me. Now I just prayed that my urinary and digestive systems would cooperate. The flight took ten hours since we had to dodge enemy patrols and radars, we even managed to sneak past an enemy AWACS that was cruising along our path. And, due to the detours we took, we had to refuel twice, adding more time. But we managed to get to the breakaway point on time anyway. We were over Chopingburg when the rest of the guys broke off southwest to get to their standby point. And I was alone from there. Once I was about 500 kilometers from the target I began to descend I lined up my aircraft so I'd cruise just along the coastline. I also maintained a transonic speed of Mach 0.81 so I'd get there quickly without drawing too much attention. Command had told us, or rather just me, along the way here that there's probably a squadron of fighters or more stationed at the airport nearby or maybe even container launched drones hidden at the pier. But enemy reinforcements should be minimal since the Erusean high command probably thinks that no one would be insane enough to send a task force so far deep into enemy lines. And I don't blame them. And, they also said that I should be just fine if I can get through the radar net undetected. The enemy IFF system requires radar so unless I get detected or if some guy on the ground or on a boat notices that I have Osean markings on my airplane, they'd just think that I'm just another Erusean pilot who's taking an F-16 out for a spin. So, yeah, this mission should be just fine. I hope.

"Entering operation area, imposing radio silence," Sky Keeper told me. _Game time. _I broke through the clouds and penetrated into the AO. "We'll radio you, but you are not allowed to make contact." _Okay then. _I turned off my transmitter so I can still think out loud without alerting the enemy of my presence.

I looked at my radar and I plotted out my course to dodge the enemy radar scopes. I was warned by Sky Keeper once more to stay out of the enemy radar and to not use my weapons. And then, the mission officially began. "Okay, you're heading up the harling rescue mission. The success of this mission depends on you, good luck."

"Thanks, but that was totally not stress-provoking," I said sarcastically, even though they couldn't hear me. The cloud cover was thick even at low altitude and Sky Keeper warned me to watch out for ice formations on my airframe. And also due to that, my eyes remained fixed to my radar screen most of the time because it was pointless to look out of my canopy. But the clouds had clear spots in some places. Sky Keeper informed me that I was a third of the way to the target when I flew over Selatapura International Airport. I was able to look down and see it barren of any activity. There were still a bunch of commercial jets that were grounded at the gates and I caught a glimpse of some of the fighters that were stationed there by the enemy. I looked at my radar and made a beeline for the clouds again.

"No problems. Situation normal." A voice said through the radio.

"No change." Another one said.

"RTB. Going home." And another said. It was probably an enemy patrol that was scouting the area, and they had just finished. And S.I.A. was probably their home base.

"That's right. There's nothing to see here." I said as I hastened to the clouds. Sky Keeper piped up again to tell m that I had two options to take for my path. If I went forward, I can easily through the radar but it'd take a little longer to get to the target area, and if I went right, while it was a better quicker it was also a tight squeeze in between the radar nets. So I weighed my options. And I looked at my watch. I shrugged. "Eh, I got time anyway." I maintained my course and took the scenic route.

Sky Keeper kept talking, he reminded me that I was alone out here but they were watching over me, including him, so I wasn't really alone out here. Yeah. Actually, to be honest, it's kinda nice solo flying because it was quiet and peaceful. So my stress was low. And so, I allowed my self to relax and sink back into my seat. Sky Keeper told me that I was halfway, but I let go of one hand from the stick to cut back the throttle a little and maintained a slow forward cruise to get rid of some of the vibrations. I then took a small, mid-mission, break by unclipping my mask and unwrapping the second sandwich. I took a bite out of it and downed and it with some water before wrapping it up again and quickly getting back to work. Sky Keeper had just told me that I was now three-fourths of the way there and he also began to talk about some stuff about Harling and how he wanted to save him. That was nice and all but behind his little monologue I could enemy radio chatter again.

"Command, this is Sentinel 52, come in over." The enemy said.

"This is command, go ahead 52."

"Um yeah, uh a fighter just buzzed us at quite a low altitude. I dunno what the air force is up to since they don't tell us, navy guys, a lot but I thought I'd call it in any way." The enemy patrol said.

"Okay, I'll relay this to the guys at S.I.A., just maintain your normal patrol pattern for now." The enemy command told them

"Alright, copy that command." The patrol craft replied.

_Shit. _I happen to have flown over an enemy patrol boat. Just my luck. I made a quick calculation and ended up having an average of about 2-4 minutes before the enemy realizes that something is wrong. So I had to step on it. I came across another fork on my path and was left with the same choices. I decided that I had to take the quicker but harder path since the enemy could be alerted any minute now. I lined my plane as straight as I could and I knife-edged between the radar nets just to make sure I didn't get detected. And I was in the clear. For now.

"Trigger, the first stage of the mission is clear." Sky Keeper informed me once I got through. "Don't celebrate yet. The real fight's about to get started."

_Right. _I could see the space elevator right in front of me. There were no clouds in the area around it. And it was a straight shot. I armed all my weapons and dove down to the deck. I wanted to approach at high speeds at about a hundred feet above sea level so I can still surprise the guys on the space elevator. I hadn't heard any radio transmissions again so I still had the element of surprise. My HUD updated and I could see the targets get highlighted in front of me.

"Radio silence is now lifted. The auxiliary craft will be arriving shortly." Sky Keeper said. "Destroy the anti-air around the elevator. We're securing Sea Goblin's landing zone." He ordered.

I flipped on my transmitter again. "Roger that, Sky Keeper," I replied. When I was near enough I shot straight up and leveled out so I could drop my bombs. I dropped two of them and maneuvered to make another pass. When I turned, I saw two explosions confirming my two kills. I also saw enemy infantry and personnel scrambling for their weapons or to man their SAMs and AA guns. The plan worked, they had no idea. "You guys better get here quick. The enemy is pissed." I told my allies but didn't wait for a response as I turned around to engage again. On my second pass, I blew up to AA guns with my guns before switching to my missiles and blowing up a SAM launcher and a radar vehicle then switching again to my guns and tearing apart another AA gun. I went for another successful pass with another five kills on my roster but on my fourth pass, it seemed that the enemy was finally able to pick themselves up because I came under fire from 20mm bullets and heat-seeking missiles. But I didn't matter because my boom-and-zoom strategy was paying off. I made two more passes before the reinforcements finally arrived. But by that time, they were just cleaning up the mess.

"Trigger, bout the wait. Cavalry's here!" Clown announced cheerfully.

"It's about time," I replied.

"Golem squadron, Trigger jumped through the fire." Knocker told them. "Now it's our turn."

"Understood." Footpad replied.

"Gargoyle Squadron, stay focused. You all know your jobs." Gargoyle 1 said to his squadronmates. I didn't really pay attention to it. Now that my allies were here, I wanted some time to finish my sandwich.

"You guys mind cleaning the rest of this mess up? I need a drink," I said sarcastically as I reached for my water bottle and opened it. But as I was gonna take a drink, a bullet from an AA gun hit my plane and rattled it causing me to spill some water on myself. "Motherf..." I muttered. I could hear the chuckles of my allies through the comms.

"This isn't the time to be having a snack, Trigger," Knocker told me. I just scoffed. So, I closed the water bottle and set it back down before pulling up and diving down to drop a Paveway III on the AA gun that had shot me. I looked back at the explosion and was satisfied. And I was finally able to take a sip which made me feel better.

"How does that feel?" I said.

"Quite the attitude today. Ey, Trigger?" Clown chuckled.

"I was thirsty," I said and continued the mission.

"This is Sea Goblin. We've arrived. Do we have a clear LZ?" The Sea Goblin commander asked. By the time they arrived, we were just finishing it up.

"Hold on a second," I told them. I lined up for another strike and I dropped another bomb on the last AA gun. "This is Mage 2, target destroyed. You're in the clear Sea Goblin." I announced.

"The landing zone is secure. Sea Goblin, you are cleared to land." Sky Keeper told them.

"Roger. Rendezvous point in sight. We're almost there." Their commander replied.

I could see Sea Goblin's lone MH-47D coming in from the horizon towards their LZ. When I banked, I could see the surviving enemy infantry and personnel pick themselves up and retreat into the facility. They may just be fortifying it up.

"Uh, Mage 2 to Sea Goblin, be advised I'm seeing multiple enemy ground elements on foot holding up in the facility. You guys should be careful." I told them.

"Copy that, Mage 2." Their commander replied.

"Multiple bandits over Selatapura harbor! They're container launched UAVs." Sky Keeper announced. I looked at my radar and I saw multiple blips above the harbor area.

"Uh oh, here they come," I said as I gazed at the formation of drones coming straight for us.

"Sea Goblin here. Going up to meet our two VIPs." Sea Goblin commander said as their Chinook touched down.

"Rescue craft tagged on. Initiate." Sky Keeper announced. The MARSOC raiders began to disembark off the helicopter and head into the facility. "Rescue craft on the ground is defenseless. Golem and Mage, destroy all hostiles." He told us. We replied and went to face the enemy. "Gargoyle, stay behind and guard the elevator." He ordered.

"Roger." Gargoyle's lead replied.

I heard Clown sigh. "It's been a long journey, but you're on the home stretch." He was tired, and I understand him. s

"Mhmm, we got this, guys. Let's go!" I said as we all formed up to intercept the drones. "This is Sea Goblin! Heading over to the ex-prez's location now." Sea Goblin lead announced. "Sniper! Run for the container." He ordered his men.

We all locked onto a drone once we hit the max range and fired. Most of our missiles connected but some were still flying. And others were in the process of being launched. So we broke the formation and entered an aerial knife fight. I latched onto a drone and fired a pair of missiles. But it avoided both of them by pulling up into a climb. I followed but I failed to notice another drone latch onto me and line up behind me.

"Watch your tail, Trigger! You got one behind you!" Boggard called out to me.

I looked behind me and saw the drone. But at that same moment, it locked on and fired. I did the calculations in my head. I was too close to be able to maneuver successfully so I just dumped flares and rolled like a maniac and hoped for the best. It worked as the missiles just blew up mid-air. Now it was my turn. I latched onto the same drone I was trailing before, locked on and fired. The drone blew up. I yanked my stick to a low energy climb and stalled but so did the drone. I got my aircraft to point at its direction and it started to run away.

"Oh no, you don't," I said as I followed the drone. I locked on and fired but it managed to avoid it. So I opted to just get close enough to just shred it with my gun. The spray of 20mm fire Swiss-cheesed the drone and it exploded in mid-air. "Splash two drones," I announced into my comms. I noticed that I still had a few bombs left so I decided to unload them onto the drone container boxes to lighten my aircraft.

As I dropped the rest of my payload on the container boxes, I heard gunfire from automatic weapons on my radio. It was Sea Goblin. "Ambush!" A raider spat out. "Fire from the far shore!" He called out.

"They're targeting us! Get behind the chopper!" Sea Goblin lead ordered. They were pinned down.

I continued to drop the last of my bombs on the containers before rejoining the air war. "I'm outta bombs. But there's still a lot of containers," I announced. I could still hear the gunfire on my radio. And I also saw more drones take off from their container boxes. "That's not good," I said.

"Return fire Sierra 2, hold position!" SG lead ordered again. "We're cut off!" He said.

"That's really not good!" I said again as I cleared Clown's six.

"They're swarming! There's no way we can provide adequate cover!" Clown announced. I surveyed the situation. The plan was working for the most part. We were keeping the drones over Selatapura harbor and away from the space elevator. But if more come and more definitely would come, then we'd be forced to retreat. We're at a point where the enemy can throw as many drones at us as they please.

"What do we do Knocker? I don't think I have enough ammo for this." I told him. He was silent, but he was thinking.

Sea Goblin wasn't any better. The enemy brought in a humvee with a .50 cal on it. "Taking fire! We're pinned down." SG lead called out.

"Sky Keeper, what's the sitrep?" Knocker asked.

"Eliminate all enemy UAVs. Don't let up." He said. "Or just hold them off until the ex-prez is secured." He said.

"That's easier said than done," I said as I latched onto a drone.

"Ex-prez identified! Behind the gantry crane." A raider called out.

"Mr. Harling! Stay right there!" Another raider told him.

"There we go!" I cheered. "Just grab him and get outta there!" I yelled. We were still keeping the drones busy but some are now managing to get through our net. Thankfully, they were quickly ashed by Gargoyle squadron.

"Goodnight," A Gargoyle said after shooting down a drone that got through.

"That takes care of that." I heard Boggard. Footpad and him were on the deck clearing out the rest of the containers. "All elements, this is Golem 3. The deck is clear, I got nothing else on my radar." He announced.

"Good work, Golems 3 and 4," Knocker praised them. "Now get back up and let's clean up the rest of this mess."

"Roge," They both said and climbed to us to clear out the rest of the drones.

"That's 'bout half! Mop up the rest!" Sky Keeper ordered.

While they climbed I could still the gunfire on my radio. We now had the upper hand in the air but I couldn't say the same about the ground. "Uh, Mage 2 to Gargoyle squad. Is it possible for you guys to assist our boys on the ground?" I asked them.

"Sorry Mage 2. But they're inside the facility and we can't hit them, besides we need a visual guide in order to lock on or even make a gun run. We can't lay effective fire." Gargoyle lead replied.

"Right," I said in defeat.

Then it happened. "Jacob's been hit!" A raider called out.

"Incoming rocket!" Another one called out before the line went static. Sea Goblin is down.

"Holy shit," I said quietly.

"Sea Goblin! All survivors! Respond! Is Mr. Harling alive?" Sky Keeper frantically asked, losing his composure for a moment back there.

"Are you kidding me, an entire MARSOC platoon probably just died but we're still talking about Harling?" _Jesus Christ! _I internally muttered. Yes, I have Erusean blood in me but I can guarantee that there are more who's 100% Osean who would've said the same. Besides, Harling may not be much help in this war. Sure, he might still be a good diplomat but his abilities have been slashed ever since the end of his term.

I heard the same gunfire again. "They got the chopper and Sierra 2!" A raider called out.

"That was thermobaric!" Another said. _Oh, thank God_. At least some of them were still alive.

"Shit! Rocket!" A raider said before the line went static again. _Nevermind._

"Damn…" Sky Keeper spat.

"I got one on me!" Faun called out. Seeing that I was the closest, I went over to help him.

"I got you, Golem 2," I said. "Hang in there." I locked on and blew the drone out of the sky.

"Thanks." He said.

"No problem. Just watch yourself, kid," I said as I broke off to engage the rest of the drones. Sky Keeper had just said that there were only a few left.

It was quiet for a little bit as we fought the drones. Then I heard a voice on the radio. "This is Colonel Johnson. Do you copy? I am with president Harling." He said. This must be the guy that was accompanying Harling. "The rescue unit is down, along with the soldier who had this radio." He reported. I could also hear some gunfire and yelling in the background before he stopped talking to probably get into cover. "I'll get Mr. Harling outta here." He said before I heard shots from a pistol, he was returning fire.

"Sir, we feel the same way. We'll figure something out." Sky Keeper tiredly responded. "Is there anything around the elevator that could get you out? A truck, car, or maybe even a boat. Something that could put distance between you and the enemy?" He asked trying to manage their escape.

"Uh, we got an Erusean transport craft on stand by on one of the helipads." He said before the line momentarily went static. "It's unlocked and the engines are on. But I had to kill the pilot though." He said as I heard the sounds of a chopper block out his voice for a moment. I think I heard him tell someone take a seat before he strapped in as well. "It's fine, we'll manage."

"I heard you were in the air force, Colonel. Can you fly?" Sky Keeper asked him, prepared to give the Colonel a crash course on basic aeronautics if necessary. Fortunately, it wasn't necessary.

"Better than Mr. Harling, that's for sure." Colone Johnson replied.

Sky Keeper to let out a thankful sigh. "It'll do." He said. He typed some things on his terminal before ordering the other people on his plane. "All squadrons be advised. The call sign is uh...Mother Goose one. I've sent the information via the data link."

"Mother Goose one?" Johnson scoffed. "That's the best ya'll can come up with?"

"We've got our hands full up here and we went with the first thing that entered our heads. Besides, it's easy to say and remember, and it's only temporary." Sky Keeper explained.

"Okay then."

I latched onto the last UAV and fired another pair of missiles and blew it out of the sky. "Got another drone in the bag," I announced. "My scope's clear. There aren't any more drones in the area."

"Yeah, but not for long." Knocker said. "Mother Goose One, launch immediately. The sooner we can clear out, the better."

"Yeah, I got you," Johnson replied. I saw the blip of Mother Goose One appear on the elevator and began to move.

"All UAVs have been splashed." Sky Keeper announced. "All aircraft, Former President Harling's transport is ready to take off. Mother Goose One, take off."

"Alright, here we go. Mother Goose One taking off," Jonson said. The Erusean V-22 powered up and was soon off the ground. "Mr. Harling wants to extend his thanks to you beforehand."

"Let's wait till we're home safe," Sky Keeper said. "Mage Squadron, Mother Goose One is heading south. Provide support."

"Copy that, Sky Keeper," Clown replied. "Let's roll, Trigger."

"Wilco," I said before forming up with him to escort the osprey to safety.

As we went ahead to cover Mother Goose One's retreat, Golem went to go scouting for anything else that may pose a threat to the VIPs. Knocker was first to notice some contacts coming in from the distance. "Sky Keeper, bogeys on my radar! Bearing 220!" He reported.

There was a second of silence to allow the AWACS controller to identify what they were. "Sighting confirmed as MQ-101s, forerunner for the Arsenal Bird!" He reported back.

"The big bird is comin', huh?" Clown said. "C'mon, Trigger. Let's go and put on a show for our VIPs shall we?"

"Goddamnit, not these fuckers again!" Knocker spat out once the drones appeared on radar. I was genuinely surprised at Knocker's use of profanity back there. "Alright, remember, we're not taking any chances this time. You get damaged, you and your wingman pull out. Got it?" We all replied with our own 'sir, yes sir!' and got back to work.

"Mage, protect Mother Goose One! Shoot down any UAVs!" Sky Keeper told us. "Golem, intercept the UAVs."

"Golem 1, wilco. That last battle taught me a lot about those assholes." Knocker said. "Golem 2, don't stray off on me! Always maintain element, understand?"

"Wilco. Forming up." Faun replied.

Gargoyle Squadron had stuck to their original orders and stayed within the space elevator. Clown and I tried to form up with the osprey, but luckily the F-16 has a very low stall speed, while Gargoyle now followed, providing cover from up top. Golem Squadron went to go face to face with the UAVs. They entered another knife fight but they were still outnumbered so a few got through causing me and Clown to break formation to protect Mother Goose One.

"I'm on one," I said as I latched onto a UAV and tried to get a lock.

"Roger. Sending UAVs at the transport." I heard someone say through the comms. Its ID says unknown. Another stray message. "Orders are to fire warnings." _What, why? _"Yes sir, he an old-timer. Has no clue how UAVs are used." _What the hell are you guys talking about? _I was genuinely confused. I thought about it for a moment and with a quick analysis of the drones' combat pattern, it dawned on me.

"Oh my God," I said. They were trying to single out Mother Goose One.

"Mother Goose One, UAV on your tail! Take evasive action!" Sky Keeper ordered. I snapped my head back and saw a UAV lining up to take a shot.

"Shit!" I spat and broke off of the drone to engage the one going for the osprey.

"I hear you, but this isn't exactly a fighter," Johnson grunted as he banked to the right while dumping some flares to throw off the missile. It worked but the drone was getting ready to let another one loose. Luckily I already two pairs of sidewinders streaming towards the drone.

I then decided to report my findings to my colleagues. "Uh, Mage 2 to all aircraft. I just did a quick analysis of the scene and based on what I've seen the drones are trying to single out Mother Goose One. We're only getting in the way."

"So let's keep getting in their way!" Knocker said while he tried to lock onto a drone. Looks like I got his attention due to his next statement. "Shit, Trigger's right. We'll be wasting time if we keep this up. All aircraft try and form a protective net around Mother Goose One. Shoot down only the ones that get close!" He ordered and we all got to it. It proved to be more effective as fewer drones were now getting through.

"Understood, an Arsenal Bird is on its way." The unknown said again. _Oh shit. _"Strategic AI chose Liberty over Justice. Courses have already been changed." The unknown stated. Once the Arsenal Bird gets within the airspace, our new strategy would be useless since we'd instantly be shredded by the big bird.

I noticed that Gargoyle Squadron was still up top and fighting the drones up there, not really following the new strategy. "Uh, Mage 2 to Gargoyle Squad," I began to them. "The fun stuff is down here," I told them sarcastically. But most of the drones were trying to breach the net so it was still pretty true.

"We got it up here," Gargoyle 1 said.

"Oh, c'mon you guys!" Boggard whined like a small kid. "You're really missing out."

"We got it up here, now shut up and get back to keeping Mother Goose One safe," Gargoyle 1 growled back a little too harshly.

Boggard was probably going to retaliate but I managed to keep him quiet. "Let it go Golem 3. They got a nice view anyway, and more free kills for us!" I told him as I continued to pick off more drones that were trying to breach. The comms were quiet after that.

As I continued to pick off the drones, another Gargoyle member piped up. I wanted to stay focused so that this could end quicker but I chose to listen anyway. "Gargoyle 1, wheres the signal?" He asked.

"Gargoyle Squadron. Stand by for my order." The lead replied.

"But without the lighthouse...I mean the harbor, they won't be able to get home." Another Gargoyle spoke hesitantly. _What do you mean?_

"That ship isn't one of ours," Gargoyle lead bitterly replied. "Gargoyle Squadron, let's go for that patch of drones to our 10'o clock over there." I saw them form up and speed over to the drones. They looked like they were going for the drones so I didn't mind. It's not our fault if they chose to waste their ammunition. But what intrigued me was what they were talking about earlier. What about the lighthouse, and what ship? What the hell were they saying? This required too deep in thinking but I couldn't let my guard down now that we were almost home free. But then this happened.

"Where's the signal?" A Gargoyle whined.

"Gargoyle Squadron, change radio frequency," a new voice ordered. The ID said that it was from IUN-PKF HQ. Now that was weird. I tried to quickly find the other frequency on the radio scanner but I couldn't find anything. And I had work to do anyway.

I downed another drone before hearing Johnson's voice again. "Mother Goosed One here. We're about to leave the airspace. Keep your fingers crossed," He reported. Whatever weird shit Gargoyle was up to started to not matter as we got closer to the border. Once we're out all we have to do is make sure the drones don't follow, which they probably won't. And if they do, the Osean navy has a couple of destroyers filled up RIM-66M Standard SAMs.

"Gargoyle, it's time." IUN-PKF HQ said. _The fuck?_

"Attention, Gargoyle Squadron. Babel. Babel. Babel," Gargoyle lead said.

"What?" Knocker said.

"Huh?" Clown repeated.

"Gargoyle 3 to babel," He said.

"Babel roger," another said. I saw the four Gargoyle F-14Ds form up, facing the elevator. Then they fired their missiles. The missiles were going in a straight line but they flew through a flock of drones. The drones, instead of maneuvering out of the way were actually flying straight into the missiles' path. One missile was not intercepted and hit the space elevator. Now, the Gargoyles all banked hard right as they were now being pursued by drones.

"Sky Keeper! What the hell was that?" Knocker demanded, confused.

"Gargoyle did their job," Sky Keeper replied flatly.

"Yeah, no shit," Knocker retorted. "But why the hell wasn't we informed?" He was understandably pissed. I mean, it's not fun to discover that while we were busting our asses to protect the package our own allies had their own objectives.

"The IUN can't coordinate between branches, as usual," Clown answered him, sighing at the last part.

"It would've been nice if they'd at least given us a tip," I stated. Is it wrong for them to have a different objective? Of course not! But it'd be nice for them to have told us so that we'd be able to act accordingly. It's a miracle that the mission wasn't immediately FUBARed when they pulled their little stunt.

"Gargoyle Squadron, report!" IUN-PKF HQ demanded. Though I was in the process of fending off a couple of drones, I decided to listen in.

"HQ, one hit was scored. The rest were intercepted by UAVs," Gargoyle lead reported. _What the hell? _"The elevator's windbreak has took a scratch, nothing more."

"Roger, continue to maintain air superiority." HQ ended. I was generally confused.

"Hey!" I yelled into my mic. "The elevator isn't the things trying to kill us! Maybe you may wanna help us out over here by saving your missiles for the drones!" I was kinda surprised. It wasn't normal for me to have an outburst.

"We got our orders, you got yours!" Gargoyle lead retorted flatly.

I was gonna retaliate but Clown shut me down. "That's enough, Trigger. Let it go." He told me.

"It's bullshit, sir," I said with venom lacing my voice.

Knocker seemed to agree. "Don't worry about it. Clown and I will sort this shit out once we get back. But now we just have to get outta here," He said. I calmed down and got back to work.

It was bullshit. Why the hell would they target the elevator anyway, it doesn't make any sense? Maybe they didn't want Erusea to have it, that's why. But I really can't tell for sure. Besides, a bunch of sidewinders weren't going to do anything to that giant monolith of a structure. Not even all of the AIM-54 Phoenix LAAMs strapped to their F-14s would've done too much.

We were now only a minute out till we breach the border. It was home free from there. Hell, I probably would've eaten the rest of my sandwich to flex on my allies as we moonwalked outta there. But then, this happened.

Gargoyle Squadron still decided to keep being a bunch of dumb shits that they kept doing their thing by intercepting drones on their own instead of following our kill-zone strategy. I could feel the two sides of my inner flight-lead either facepalming completely or just it's autistic screeches as it can't handle the utter display of pure stupidity. It eventually caught up to them as they started to be overwhelmed by another wave of drones that just arrived in the airspace.

"Gargoyle 3, you got one behind you!" Gargoyle lead yelled to warn his squadronmate.

3 did his best to maneuver but it wasn't enough. "I'm hit!" 3 said as he continued to push his wounded super tomcat to its limits.

"I got a couple on me as well!" Gargoyle 2 reported as a pair of drones latched onto him. It was not looking good on their end.

Knowing that they wouldn't last another minute if they kept this up, Gargoyle lead did the only thing left for him to do. "This is Gargoyle Squadron! We need backup or else we're toast!" He called out to the rest of us. The drones were also pretty heavy on our end but otherwise, we were fine. I knew what was coming, however.

"Goddamnit," Knocker sighed. "Trigger, go and help out our friends will ya." He told me.

"Yes, sir," I said as I broke the net to go and help out Gargoyle. "This is getting old, Gargoyle. Seriously." I told them as I latched onto a pair of drones, quickly downing them before repeating the process. I cleared out the sixes of the other guys before moving to their lead who had one behind him. I took up firing position behind the drone as we went for a ride. But I didn't fire immediately. I wanted to mess with this sonofabitch. Lead took notice of this.

"Mage 2, get this fucker off of me!" He yelled at me.

I laughed a little bit. "What's the magic word?" I asked, not caring about the gravity of the situation. I most likely sounded like a madman but I didn't care.

"PLEASE!" He yelled.

"Ah ah ah, complete the sentence!" I demanded.

"FUCK YOU!" He spat out.

"That's not very nice," I deadpanned. His breathing got deeper.

"ALRIGHT! Alright! Jesus!" He yelled. "Please, get the drone off of me." He said in defeat.

"That's it!" I said ecstatically as I fired my cannon. The 20mm cartridges tore off the drone's left wing and it flat-spinned to the ground. His six was now clear. I formed up to his side as he leveled out. "You're learning," I told him. I could see him turn his head towards me from inside of the cockpit of his fighter but didn't say anything. "One of the most important elements to winning a fight is teamwork. And teamwork requires a little something called communication."

Before I could continue, Clown spoke up. "Mother Goose One hit!" He announced suddenly. I snapped back.

"Mother Goose One has been hit!" Sky Keeper repeated. "Colonel Johnson respond!" He demanded. Apparently, amidst all the chaos a drone was able to slip through the net. Clown was able to shoot it down but not before it was able to let a single missile fly. Johnson had tried to maneuver but due to the osprey's limited maneuvering capabilities and the fact he had run out of countermeasures allowed the missile to hit.

I turned my head back to look at Gargoyle lead. I pulled my visor up to show the pure anger that was showing in my eyes. "It would've been a great deal to the rest of us if you had informed us of your secondary objective so that we could act accordingly. But you didn't. Now, look at this mess." I paused for a second to let him take in the situation. "Lessons of combat. You hear me?" I finished.

"Yeah," He replied.

"Good, now help us wrap this up," I said before breaking off and heading to help out my allies.

"Mage Squadron, asses the situation," Sky Keeper ordered since the colonel won't reply.

"Wilco. Trigger, cover me while I inspect Mother Goose One," Clown told me.

"Yes sir," I said as I began to fight off the drones, doing my best to keep them off us as Clown inspected the osprey.

"This is Mage 1. I have Mother Goose One in my sight," Clown began. "Cabin's fine, but the cockpit's not looking too good. But other than that, the whole aircraft is fine." He reported.

"Colonel Johnson, are you okay?" Sky Keeper asked, probably at the edge of his seat listening for a response.

The line was quiet for what felt like an eternity before there was a response. There was a slight cough before he spoke. "Don't worry about that," He paused, it was obvious that he was in considerable pain. "Just send help this way." There was more silence for a few moments. "I'm sorry..." He said before pausing again although we can hear his deep breaths. "Get Mr. Harling out. Please…" Then the line cut. Those last few seconds sent chills down my spine.

"Oh my God," I said quietly. _Not good, very not good!_

"Mother Goose One, respond," Sky Keeper said. "Mother Goose One!" He demanded. "Shit!" He spat out as he tried to think of what to do next.

"Sky Keeper, should we continue providing for Mother Goose One?" Clown asked, now facing the rapidly growing possibility that this mission was gonna be a bust.

"Of course! Mr. Harling isn't dead yet, is he? As long it can maintain a straight line out of the AO we'll be able to find a way to extract him out of it once the drones have been taken care of!" He spat out, I could tell that he refused to believe that Harling was probably gonna die. He was clinging onto every bit of hope he could get. Right now, I don't know if it's good or bad.

"Shit, how close do you think are we?" Clown asked.

I glanced at my radar screen. "Uh, I think if I pop open my cockpit and reach out, I'd effectively be touching the border of the AO. I'm not trying to make a joke, we are literally that close!" I told him.

He sighed. "Okay then. Wait...What's Mother Goose One doing?" I looked over to Mother Goose One and I couldn't believe my eyes.

"Mother Goose One is turning. What's going on?" Sky Keeper said, just as confused as I am. The V-22 banked hard right until it did a full 180-degree turn heading back to the space elevator. "They're heading to the space elevator."

"No no no no no! Wrong-way, not that way!" I spat out. The osprey leveled out and continued to fly towards the elevator.

There was some static that piped up on the radio, but I think I also heard what might've been words but it was still too grainy to be audible. I checked the ID and it listed: unknown.

"It's flying at a steady altitude. Who's at control?" Clown asked.

"It's not the colonel. Mr. Harling's the only other person on board." Sky Keeper stated. "Mother Goose One, divert immediately. Mother Goose One, respond!" He demanded. Harling was either couldn't reply or was choosing to ignore us. "Mr. Harling, please respond!" Sky Keeper tried again.

"We can't protect our objective if it sticks around here!" Clown said. "Our bubble strat is not meant for this!"

I made a quick ammo check. "Right, and I don't we have enough ammo for this," I stated.

"Now's not the time to freak out fellas. We've still got a job to do, so let's do it! Keep your mind focused!" Knocker said, trying to keep us together.

"Mr. Harling, we are not giving up on you!" Sky Keeper declared. At that same moment, more drones began to swarm the osprey. "The UAVs are approaching Mother Goose One! Take 'em down now, Mage Squadron!" He ordered.

"Let's go, Trigger," Clown said and I followed.

"Mother Goose One, turn 180 degrees and exit combat airspace!" Sky Keeper ordered only to be ignored.

"What is with this guy, is he trying to get shot down?" I asked sarcastically.

"If we lose even one friendly in the process of doing this. I'm pulling everyone out. You got that Sky Keeper?" Knocker declared bitterly.

"Yeah, I got that. And I understand," Sky Keeper said solemnly. He didn't want to leave Harling behind but he knew the gravity of the situation and he couldn't afford to lose anyone else after Sea Goblin and Colonel Johnson went down. But he wanted to keep trying. "Mage Squadron, do you guys have some luck on your end? Maybe you could force him to turn around," Sky Keeper said.

"I got a few tricks, but I don't know if it'll do much, however," I replied.

"Whatever necessary, do it. Just don't kill him," He said.

"Okay then," I said before getting to it. Clown, Golem, and even Gargoyle now tried their best to cover me. But I knew that that small window was not gonna stay open for much longer. These tricks I mentioned are basically the procedures in forcing down a highjacked plane without shooting it down. I formed up beside the osprey and got on my radio. "Mother Goose One, this is Mage 2, callsign Trigger, of the Osean Air Defence Force. Please divert from this airspace immediately," I said calmly only to be ignored. "Alright, so this is how it is." I accelerated a bit so I could get in front of the osprey. By positioning myself directly in front of it, hopefully I could destabilize it to the point Harling would have to divert. I also had to sacrifice some flares and I had to wag my fighter a little bit to get it to work. "Mother Goose One, please divert. Now." I demanded. It seems that it was working because the osprey had deviated from its course a little bit. Now I had to try and get in his head somehow. "Mr. Harling. Whatever you are trying to accomplish is not worth your life. There are other ways, better ways. Now, please. Please turn around and let us go home." I explained and begged to him. Although I wanted to get the hell outta here and I probably didn't care whether this guy lived or died, I still meant what I said. They were true, they were all true. There was silence for a little bit. Then I saw the osprey beginning to turn. It would've been a hell of moment if I didn't get a missile warning. I gunned the throttle and climbed up to avoid the missile and dived back down to engage the drones.

"Mother Goose One has diverted its course. Way to go, Trigger!" Clown cheered. I would've taken in the moment but I really wanted out. And it seemed that this day was destined to go to shit because the drones began swarming again. This time they managed to get us to scramble which left me as the only immediate cover for Mother Goose One.

"Arsenal Bird Liberty, passing waypoint 2," The enemy controller said.

"Warning, I'm picking up a large signal, bearing 220!" Sky Keeper reported. "It's the Arsenal Bird. ETA to AO breach is 2 minutes!"

I took up position behind Mother Goose One where all the drones were at. There were too many drones, and I was too close. I only had a few missiles left anyway so I had to use my gun. Then I ran out of ammo. Mother Goose One was not gonna be here if I called for back up, so I had took my chances and went for a lock. I double-checked that I was locked onto a drone and fired. But at that same moment, I saw another missile streak above me and flew in tandem with my missile. The whole thing played in slow-motion for me. My missile tracked the drone and destroyed it but the stray missile impacted Mother Goose One. The osprey's right wing was blown off and it started to flat spin, then it just exploded in mid-air as the fire ignited the almost empty and oxygen-rich fuel tanks. My eyes went wide, and I was speechless.

"Oh my God! Mother Goose One has been shot down!" Gargoyle lead said. Him and his squadron forming up.

"Where'd the missile come from?"

"Mage 2 fired that!"

"It was Osean! A friendly missile hit them!" That's what was said by each Gargoyle. I've yet to hear from Clown and Golem. They were most likely too shocked that it rendered them speechless.

"Verifying the situation. Stop speculating," Sky Keeper said, trying to keep himself collected.

"Friendly fire! I saw it!" Another Gargoyle yelled again, adding more tension to the situation.

I couldn't bring myself to speak at first but I was eventually able to push something out. "Negative!" I spat out. "I was locked onto the drone! The missile was tracking the drone! The data recorder got it!" I tried to explain but it seemed futile. I tried to retreat back to Clown but Gargoyle had positioned themselves behind, taking up a firing position so that I couldn't book it out of there.

"Mother Goose One exploded in mid-air. No one could've survived," Sky Keeper said solemnly.

"Erusean bastards! They just killed a hero!" Footpad growled the first one to say something.

"Mage 1, was it Trigger?" Knocker started, asking the million zollar question.

I heard Clown sigh in defeat, looks like he tried to come up of a way to try and defend me a little but came up with not much. "Trigger was the closest, he was the only one that was covering for Mother Goose One at the time. UAVs were crawling all over our objective. He-" He cut off by Knocker before he could defend me some more.

"I told you to keep a goddamn eye on him!" He yelled.

"It must've been a mistake," Clown said, still trying. I couldn't bring myself to say anything more. I knew what was coming. And there was not a single thing I could do about it.

"Arsenal Bird is entering! All aircraft, withdraw immediately!" Sky Keeper ordered. We all accelerated to full afterburner and made a beeline out of the AO. "Trigger, you can't fly for a while. You understand why." He told me. I tried to keep my focus as I flew out of the AO with my allies.

As we were flying back, I turned off my transmitter and sat back. Clown flew beside me but HQ had ordered Golem and Gargoyle to lock me down tight, in case I tried to escape. As if I had anywhere to go anyway. I unclipped my mask and picked up my half-eaten sandwich.

"So much for a celebration," I said as I tried to eat the rest of it. It was probably the last nice food I was gonna eat for a long time. If not the last food I was gonna eat forever. Every bite I took was being rejected by my system. The sandwich didn't taste the same…

07/06/2019

24:00

Fort Grays Island

7°58'25" S, 9°25'50" W

It was around midnight when we had arrived back to base. The flight was uneventful and no one said anything, except when the guys on the tankers were directing us so they could refuel our aircraft. Golem landed first followed by us. I easily landed my fighter but with a slight bump. I don't know if I was just tired or I was just nervous.

"Mage 2, taxi designated parking spot," The controller told me. I saw two humvees, each having a .50 cal on top of it, take position on both sides of my falcon. They guided me to the parking spot which had a bright light shining onto it, I also saw a squad of Osean marines in full combat gear waiting for me on the spot. "Mage 2, hold your spot on the apron and power down," He said. I powered down my aircraft and the ground crew got to work to securing my aircraft. "Follow the ground team's instructions once you exit," He told me. "Goodluck, Trigger. I hope they're wrong about you." The controller said before getting off the line.

"Thanks, and I hope so too," I said quietly.

"Lieutenant Smith, please step out of the fighter with your hands where we can see them!" The leader of the squad of marines ordered me. I took a deep breath and began to undo all of the straps before popping open the canopy. I took off my helmet and raised it up to show that I wasn't a threat. Two of the marines stood by, rifles ready, as a precaution while the other two walked up to the side to help me down and secure me. They helped me down but told me to keep my hands up. They grabbed the P226 and folding knife that was issued to me and checked me further. Once they were sure that I had nothing else on me they took my helmet and cuffed my hands behind me.

"Please follow us, Lieutenant," one of the marines told me and I followed. They began to escort me side by side while keeping close tabs on me. I looked to my left and saw Golem Squadron with Clown standing by Knocker watching me get escorted away. I gave them a shallow nod and continued walking with my head down.

They brought me to the cellblock on base and locked me in one of the cells. They told me that if I needed something that I call the duty officer that was present. A lot of people, even the marines, were still nice to me as I got to know a lot of them during my time here on Fort Grays. As for protocol I was to be kept in the cell, but I was allowed three meals a day and a shower once a day. And I was also entitled to a phone call as long as it's recorded. Who could I call? I only had a few friends in the mainland and I don't even think there's anyone left that I know in Erusea as well.

"Actually, there's one guy," I said to myself. I looked at my watch and sighed. Perhaps now was a bad time, it's nearly 0100 hours hear on Fort Grays, I don't think there's much of a difference in the time zones of here to the ones in North Point. I groaned. "Fuck it," I said before getting up. It was worth a try. I called over the duty officer and told him that I was gonna make a phone call. He called over another guy to help him out in securing me. The door opened and I was told to get up against the wall.

"Sorry 'bout this Lieutenant. It's just protocol," The young MP corporal told me as he fastened the handcuffs.

"It's fine, you're just doing you're job," I replied. They led me out of the cell and brought me to a room where the phones were at. The corporal uncuffed me and I took a seat at the booth. I picked up the phone and took a second to remember the number. Once I was sure it was it, I punched in the numbers and waited as the phone rang.

"Hello?" Someone answered after a little while. It belonged to a man that was only a year younger than me.

"Ribbon? It's me, Yellow," I replied.

"Yellow, hey. I haven't heard from you in a while, how are you? How's Osea treating you?" He asked me happily.

"Um, yeah," I started.

"What's up?" he asked, growing concern in his voice.

"Listen, something happened," I told him.

"Mhmm."

"And I need your help."

"What do you need?" He asked, not a sign of hesitation in his voice.

* * *

**10K+ words, twenty pages in docs. Holy hell, I'm so sorry about the long wait but had stuff to do. But now, due to the lockdown and quarantine, I think I can push out chapters more since I have nothing else to do anyway. After this might be a short filler chapter then mission 5. I'm actually getting excited to write the rest of this especially mission 7, I feel like that would be really fun to write. Also, I made a little change back in the story. Instead of the enemy signals being stray signals, I put in a little modification to Trigger's radio so he would be able to scan and listen to enemy signals. I felt like it would be better.**

**And another thing, I may start another story. This one about Apex Legends. I stumbled upon a fic about it a couple of weeks ago as I was searching for fics so I could entertain myself and I immediately fell in love with it and it got me to dig more into it and I discovered how deep the lore of Apex really is. Which made it a good base for a new story. I've never played Titanfall and Apex though. Mostly because I'm poor, and yes I know Apex is F2P but I'm afraid that my laptop would fry if I tried playing it. It already has a hard time running War Thunder and World of Warships, the only games I have. Hell, I've never played any of the games I'm writing stories about because of those two reasons. All I have is the internet as my source of knowledge. But I do hope that in the future I'd be able to play them when I have better stuff. But now, I still like to write though I never played. **

**Now, for those who are familiar with Apex, those who know it's lore and other stuff, where should I start? Should I start in season 1, 2, 3, or 4? And in either Kings Canyon or Worlds Edge, where do you think a portal would be hidden, not like the portals that Wraith makes but more like a Stargate type portal? Please let me so I can get started.**

**Anyway, thank you all for reading and just generally let me know how I can improve my stuff. That's all, for now, guys, peace out. **


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